Oerlikon Solar has announced an initiative to reduce the cost of production for its Micromorph thin film silicon PV panels.

Based on individual agreements between Oerlikon Solar and major global gas suppliers Air Liquide and Linde, Oerlikon Solar customers will be able to achieve a total gas budget of less than EUR 8,5 / panel, realizing more than 20 % reduction in total cost of all gases and precursors supplied to new Oerlikon Solar's ThinFab 120 MWp going into full production by end of 2012.

This achievement lowers module production costs by up to 5 %.

In support of the agreements with Oerlikon Solar, each of these leading gas supply firms will set up necessary infrastructure and supply chain investments and continue to work together with Oerlikon Solar to co-develop solutions for reducing cost and consumption of process gases.

Peter Owen, Head of Linde Electronics, said: "Linde is honored to have been selected by Oerlikon as a gas partner for this program.

Since thin film silicon technology emerged, Linde has worked successfully with many major end-users to reduce their cost per watt, and the opportunity to work more closely with the leading global equipment manufacturer will deliver even more benefits to module producers.

"This partnership further strengthens the existing R and D collaboration between Linde and Oerlikon on the EU funded PEPPER project, which was announced in November 2010."

"Air Liquide is proud to demonstrate that high-volume supply solutions, innovation in new precursors, and global project and services infrastructure, can help Oerlikon Solar - the leading thin film silicon equipment supplier - to further improve the competitiveness of its thin film silicon technology," said Olivier Blachier, Vice-President Electronics and Solar Markets for Air Liquide.

"Thanks to the strong support from leading gas suppliers, we are now able to further reinforce the competitiveness of our Micromorph technology for current and future market conditions," said Helmut Frankenberger, CEO of Oerlikon Solar.