Q-Cells buys Solar Fields in move to cut solar panel costs

German-based solar panel manufacturer Q-Cells last week announced it is to acquire its US partner Solar Fields LLC in a deal worth $5m plus stock.

Under the agreement, Solar Fields is to merge with Q-Cells' US subsidiary Calyxo in return for $5m in cash and a seven per cent stake in Calyxo.

Q-Cells' Stefan Dietrich said the aim of the deal was to accelerate the development and production of Solar Fields' cadmium telluride photovoltaic modules, which were previously exclusively licensed to Calyxo.

"We see a huge potential for cost reduction with cadmium telluride modules," he explained. "As a thin film module they use little material and their production is a relatively easy process to handle – the technology has the greatest cost reduction potential in the market."

Such consolidation within the still embryonic solar industry remains relatively rare, but Dietrich predicted that it will accelerate in the coming years as firms seek a more vertically integrated approach to solar panel manufacture.

"Consolidation hasn’t really started in a big way yet, but one theory is that we will see real consolidation from 2009-10 when the silicon supply crunch is resolved," he said. "It is likely to be led by the upstream silicon companies who currently have plenty in cash and will look to buy downstream manufacturers when the supply issues are resolved and they become less powerful."

The news comes as electronics giant Sharp revealed it is to increase production of its thin film solar cells, which it claims use just one per cent of the silicon found in regular solar panels.