Niederhasli ZH/Thornton – Ascent Solar Technologies, based in the US state of Colorado, is acquiring the Flisom AG plant in the canton of Zurich. It is thus increasing its production capacity for flexible ultra-thin and ultra-light solar modules by 300 percent and is now looking to gain an international foothold.
Ascent Solar Technologies has completed a transaction to acquire thin-film PV manufacturer Flisom ‘s production facilities located in the Zurich Unterland region, according to its media release. Accordingly, the developer and manufacturer of CIGS thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions will maintain its headquarters in Thornton, Colorado, and begin using its new 15-megawatt roll-to-roll production facility in Switzerland. Ascent Solar expects this to expand production capacity by 300 percent and fundamentally expand the market, particularly in Europe and Asia.
In July last year, Heidelberg-based MARNA Beteiligungenannounced that its FL1 Holding GmbH had signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of Flisom AG. According to its own information, FL1 Holding GmbH is currently in the closing process with Flisom AG. However, this is still “subject to a certain degree of uncertainty”, according to a recent media release from MARNA.
According to the report, MARNA is sticking to its intended acquisition of the Flisom Group and emphasizes that the production plant sold in Switzerland only represents around 30 percent of Flisom AG’s production capacity for thin-film solar cells.
Flisom was founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Flisom has achieved a cell efficiency of 20.4 percent in the laboratory, a world record for a plastic substrate. The roll-to-roll manufacturing process and production machinery developed by Flisom pave the way for mass production of these innovative solar films. ce/mm
