Linde Nippon Sanso Secures Contract for Supply of Industrial Gases for Bosch Solar's German Manufacturing Facility

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Linde AG (ETR:LIN) (Munich, Germany), through subsidiary company Linde Nippon Sanso (LNS) (Munich), has secured a long-term contract to supply industrial gases, including nitrogen and oxygen, for the new plant expansion project of Bosch Solar Energy AG (Erfurt, Germany).

Bosch Solar is a member of Robert Bosch GmbH Group (Stuttgart, Germany) and specializes in the production of solar thermal systems, silicon photovoltaic (PV) and organic PV cells. The company was previously known as ersol Solar Energy until Bosch obtained a 50.45% majority stake in the company in June 2008 and officially changed the name to Bosch Solar Energy from September 1.

The manufacturing site at Arnstadt, near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, is being expanded to include a new facility for the manufacture of crystalline silicon solar cells at an investment of about $800 million up to 2012. The expansion project was officially inaugurated in March this year. Upon commencement of full capacity production, which is expected in 2010, the augmented facility will have the capacity to produce 630 MW of solar cells. It will also consist of its own module production capability and a new administrative building.

In August this year, Bosch Solar received approval for European Union Commission subsidies for the expansion of the plant. The state and federal governments had previously accepted this support, subject to the approval of the E.U. Commission.

Under the terms of the contract, LNS will provide an onsite air separation unit to provide high-purity nitrogen. In addition, LNS will supply bulk oxygen to the site. LNS already supplies the plant with specialty gases, along with a range of industrial gases to the nearby Bosch thin-film facility.

The Bosch Group is active in many other areas of the renewable-energy sector. Bosch Rexroth develops and supplies gear and drive systems for both wind and marine energy, while Bosch Thermotechnology is a leader in electric heat pumps and solar collectors for hot water generation.

The worldwide use of solar PV systems has increased dramatically during the past few years. In 2008, worldwide PV installations increased 5,948 MW, more than twice the 2,826-MW increase witnessed in 2007. Demand for solar energy has grown at an average annual rate of 30% in the past 15 years. Even so, cumulative solar energy production still accounts for just 0.01% of the global energy demand.

In terms of worldwide production of PV cells, China and Taiwan produced slightly more than 3,300 MW of cells in 2008, followed by Europe with 1,729 MW, and Japan with 1,172 MW. Within Europe, Spain and Germany are the largest consumers of PV cells.

Of the two types of solar cells, crystalline and thin-film, crystalline technology continues to dominate, although thin-film production increased 123% in 2008, with a global production of 890 MW.

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