Air Products has received an order to supply bulk and specialty gases for Hunan Gongchuang Photovoltaic Science & Technology’s new manufacturing plant in Hengyang City, China. The order includes delivery of nitrogen and hydrogen and also dopant mixtures, nitrogen trifluoride, silane and other products.
Hunan Gongchuang, a pioneer in the development of technologies for silicon-based thin film solar module and photovoltaic (PV) products manufacturing, is constructing a 40MW silicon thin-film PV manufacturing facility using the Micromorph production line from Oerlikon Solar. The plant is anticipated to commence production by the end of 2011.
Air Products works mainly to help its clients reduce their cost-per-watt by offering novel materials and product delivery services. The company is happy being a key gas supplier for Hunan Gongchuang's new facility. Hunan Gongchuang will manufacture silicon-based thin-film PV modules in a similar method as thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD).
Recently, Air Products has installed a 2 MW solar farm at its Allentown, Pennsylvania-based corporate headquarters. The farm includes over 11,000 silicon thin-film panels and is capable of lowering the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by about 2,000 t annually. This initiative describes the company’s confidence in the promising innovative technology. Air Products is well established to support the developing PV markets with its knowledge and project expertise in wider areas.
Source: http://www.airproducts.com/