Vikram Solar has partnered with teamtechnik, a market leader in production technology based in Freiberg am Neckar (Germany), to design production lines and supply plant technology to support the company’s expansion plans. Today, both companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the collaboration in the presence of Amit Mitra, Finance Minister, West Bengal. Vikram Solar is set to expand its module production from current 500 MW to 2 GW by 2019.
The company plans to invest more than Rs. 400 crore in the project, creating around 3,000 additional jobs. Vikram Solar’s module production capacity, which is currently at 500 MW, is to be expanded to 2 GW by 2019.
teamtechnik will supply solutions and machines for solar module production and put them into operation as well as train operations managers, process engineers and service technicians at Vikram Solar. The companies are also planning a future collaboration in the area of materials research, process optimization and production technology, with the intention of further improving efficiencies while continuing to reduce module costs. The collaboration with teamtechnik supplements existing collaborations with Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Centrotherm.
Stefan Rosskopf, CEO, teamtechnikMaschinen und Anlagen GmbH: “We are pleased that a leading Indian company such as Vikram Solar is planning to integrate our stringer and layup solutions into their production lines. Our solutions are based on the experience we have gained through countless productions, and we use this expertise to design the most efficient processes possible for our customers. We have supplied over 600 STRINGER TT systems to date, which has made us a global market leader in just a few years.”
Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD & CEO of Vikram Solar: “We are very happy to work with teamtechnik. Their solutions have been shown to facilitate production of highly efficient solar modules while keeping costs particularly low. Another key factor in our decision was that their production technology can be expanded in order to integrate highly efficient technologies such as PERC and bifacial cells into the production process.”
In addition to the technical criteria, teamtechnik’s service network was also important: “teamtechnik’s global service complements our local service team. The fast and reliable delivery of replacement parts and materials is a crucial factor for the success of every production line”, Chaudhary adds.