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11/12/2009
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Soitec has signed an agreement to acquire Concentrix Solar, a leading provider of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar systems.
According to Soitec, CPV is a promising technology, offering a breakthrough and competitive solution for large power plants in high irradiation countries. Concentrix' patented solution concentrates sunlight onto a small area of high efficiency solar cells, reducing the need for costly materials and increasing system efficiency.
 "The Concentrix solution, which we believe is the best for solar farms and therefore industrial production of solar sourced electricity, has exceptional synergy with Soitec's technologies," said André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, pictured, Soitec's president and ceo. "This acquisition represents an exciting and natural expansion for Soitec into the fast growing solar market, allowing us to leverage our technology and process knowledge in the development of high-performance and cost competitive photovoltaic solutions up to the system level."
Concentrix was founded in 2005 as a spin off from Fraunhofer ISE. Soitec will acquire about 80% of the shares and the deal values Concentrix at €55million. The remaining 20% of the shares will continue to be owned by Fraunhofer ISE and by Concentrix' founders and senior management.
As part of the transaction, Fraunhofer ISE has entered into a long term license agreement with Soitec regarding technology related to the manufacturing of concentrator cells. Both partners are going to develop the next generation of high efficiency CPV solar cells, based on Soitec's proprietary technologies. This work will also include CEA-Leti, Soitec's long time partner within the Grenoble R&D cluster.
"We are looking forward to the strategic and technical opportunities arising from the combination of our skills and technologies and the acceleration of our cost reduction and system efficiency roadmaps," said Hansjörg Lerchenmüller, CEO of Concentrix. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our company. With Soitec's experience and financial strengths, we are going to be able to boost our growth further and move faster in the industrial phase."
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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