Green Energy Technology Inc, the nation’s top solar wafer maker, yesterday said it would form a venture with two other local firms — solar cell maker Motech Industries Inc and polysilicon supplier Taiwan Polysilicon Corp — to produce solar wafers in the country.
The deal follows an announcement on Friday by local solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc that it had formed a strategic alliance with local solar cell maker Solartech Energy Corp via a share swap to boost their cost competitiveness.
In December, the two firms formed a NT$2 billion (US$67.8 million) joint venture in Taichung to produce solar products from polysilicon to solar cells.
Green Energy said in a statement to the stock exchange that the latest cooperation aims “to strengthen vertical integration in the solar industry and create synergy.”
Motech is a 20 percent shareholding of the world’s top contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).
The announcement also came amid rising concerns over tight supply of polysilicon, a key raw material in producing solar wafers. Green Energy expects a short supply of high-quality polysilicon through 2020, citing research by OCI Analysis.
The venture, with an initial investment of NT$1 billion, would make polysilicon solar wafers and develop related technologies, the statement said.
Green Energy and Motech each would hold a 30 percent stake in the new entity, while Taiwan Polysilicon would own 10 percent, according to the statement.
Shares of Green Energy soared 2.72 percent to NT$151 yesterday after a report by the Chinese-language Commercial Times on the three-way venture.The share price of Motech slid 1.26 percent to NT$117.50.
