Applied Materials Expands Its Solar Cell Manufacturing Technologies
With Acquisition of Baccini
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that it has acquired Baccini
S.p.A., a leading supplier of automated metallization and test systems
for manufacturing crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) cells.
Under the terms of the agreement, Applied paid €225
million (or approximately US$334 million) in cash for all of the
outstanding shares of Baccini.
“This acquisition is a key step in our goal to
become the leading equipment supplier to the solar industry,”
said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials. “With
our broad portfolio of advanced solar cell manufacturing technologies,
we plan to reduce the production costs for both crystalline silicon cell
and thin film modules, while also decreasing the grams-per-watt usage of
silicon material. As a result, we expect to help drive down the cost of
solar electricity to be competitive with conventional electricity
sources and to accelerate the rate of adoption of solar technology for
commercial and residential applications.”
Baccini will be integrated within Applied’s
Solar Business Group, headed by vice president Charles Gay. Applied’s
portfolio of c-Si cell production technologies includes precision
wafering, passivation layer deposition with its ATON™
system, automated wafer handling capabilities, and back-end-of-the-line
processes such as metallization (screen printing), laser-based
isolation, test and sorting.
www.appliedmaterials.com
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