SunPower Inks $5M Ingot JV Agreement
By Ann Steffora Mutschler -- EDN, September 29, 2006
To secure its supply of silicon, San Jose-based solar cell and solar panel provider SunPower Corp. reported today it has formed a joint venture with Korea-based equipment manufacturer Woongjin Coway to manufacture mono-crystalline silicon ingots.
The joint venture will operate in Korea, with polysilicon to be supplied mainly from DC Chemical. SunPower formed a supply agreement with DC Chemical in July.
The Cypress Semiconductor subsidiary says it will bring approximately $5 million in capital and technology expertise to the table and will sell polysilicon to the joint venture, as well as obtain silicon ingots from the joint venture.
SunPower also says it expects to purchase approximately $250 million of silicon ingots from the joint venture through a five-year supply agreement that will be signed when the venture is formally created.
The venture is expected to begin manufacturing in the second half of 2007, and is projected to grow at a rate consistent with increasing polysilicon supply from DC Chemical, the companies conclude.
