Sun Fab is Dead, Long Live Photovoltaic Power

July 22, 2010
Analysis by: Mark Burger
Analysis of: Applied Materials stops selling ‘SunFab’ thin-film lines: focus on c-Si solar and LED technology
Published at: www.pv-tech.org
Summary
The long expected demise of Applied Materials SunFab line is a setback for the company, the buyers of the manufacturing system and the bankability of some systems. But it is far from the end of the world for the technology, even amorphous silicon, presently stuck between more efficient crystalline and other thin films. It is a demonstration of the viability of the PV industry that it can shake off loss without much impact.


Analysis
The announcement by Applied Materials, Inc that they were ending their amorphous silicon turnkey production manufacturing line Sun Fab came as no great surprise to the PV industry. For a long time it was considered by analysts as too inefficient a technology (single junction that could build barely 6% efficient modules) and very expensive.The decision is a major blow to Applied Materials, more perhaps from a reputation rather than an intrinsic standpoint, and could be disastrous for the twelve or so purchasers of the SunFab systems. Some of the output of these a-Si systems could face resistance in underwriting. However, had something like this happen a decade ago, it could have cast a major cloud over the photovoltaic industry that was more than an order of magnitude smaller. Now, the setback is a relative bump on the road.The SunFab production lines capacity are only a few percent of the total industry output. The loss will easily be made up for by crystalline and more efficient thin film operations. Applied Materials will go back to crystalline and LED technology and remain in the PV game.The photovoltaic industry will have more crashes and burns as promising but expensive and unable to scale up products fall by the wayside. But that is actually the good thing about PV, that there are many variations to the technology and many business models. When the market allows for individual successes and failures, good things happen.