India-based Vikram Solar has partnered with German company teamtechnik to support its expansion plans of increasing its module manufacturing capacity to 2GW by 2019.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which the Indian firm will invest $ 60m in its capacity expansion, creating about 3,000 additional jobs by 2019.
teamtechnik will supply the machines for solar module production and place them into operation.
The German firm will train operations managers, process engineers and service technicians at Vikram Solar.
The companies are also planning for a collaborated research in the area of materials research, process optimisation and production technology to further improve efficiencies, while reducing the cost of production.
Vikram Solar managing director & CEO Gyanesh Chaudhary said: “Their (teamtechnk) solutions have been shown to facilitate production of highly efficient solar modules while keeping costs particularly low.
“Another key factor in our decision was that their production technology can be expanded in order to integrate highly efficient technologies such as PERC and bifacial cells into the production process.”
Vikram Solar noted that this collaboration will add to the existing collaborations with Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Centrotherm.
teamtechnik Maschinen und Anlagen CEO Stefan Rosskopf said: “We are pleased that a leading Indian company such as Vikram Solar is planning to integrate our stringer and layup solutions into their production lines.
“Our solutions are based on the experience we have gained through countless productions, and we use this expertise to design the most efficient processes possible for our customers. We have supplied over 600 STRINGER TT systems to date, which has made us a global market leader in just a few years.”
Image: Vikram Solar collaborates with teamtechnik to increase is production capacity. Photo: Courtesy of Vikram Solar Pvt. Ltd.