new PV solar cell producer in Korea LG
LG Electronics has acquired third-party certification for its solar cell testing facility from TUV Rheinland, a German company involved in technical, safety and certification services.
The South Korean company has been investing heavily in the solar cell business over the past five years, looking to invest 220 billion won (about $185 million) to complete two solar cell production lines by the end of 2010.
LG claims to be the world's first company to get third-party certification for a solar cell testing facility. The certification will help reduce the time and money spent on safety testing and the certification of solar cell products, the process of which is currently handled by independent organizations.
``When relying on independent product safety organizations, the process takes about a year and costs several tens of millions of won for each product. Gaining certification will cut the time to about six months and allow us to save about 3 billion won annually,'' said an LG Electronics representative.
``It will allow us to acquire global-level capabilities and techniques for analyzing the durability and safety of solar cell modules, in addition to testing our own products.''
TUV Rheinland has a 70 percent market share of the world's solar cell certification services, LG Electronics officials said.
LG Electronics expects its first solar cell line to begin mass production during the first quarter of next year, with the second line beginning full operation in early 2011. Both lines will be designed to manufacture crystalline silicon solar cells and modules with 120 megawatt capacities.
Crystalline silicon solar cells currently take up more than 80 percent of the global solar cell market, although the fast-developing thin-film solar cell segment has been competing for market share.
Crystal silicon solar cells utilize silicon wafers, while thin film solar cells coat light absorption layers and electrodes from various materials on a substrate, meaning thin-film solar cells are relatively inexpensive but low in efficiency.
The South Korean company has been investing heavily in the solar cell business over the past five years, looking to invest 220 billion won (about $185 million) to complete two solar cell production lines by the end of 2010.
LG claims to be the world's first company to get third-party certification for a solar cell testing facility. The certification will help reduce the time and money spent on safety testing and the certification of solar cell products, the process of which is currently handled by independent organizations.
``When relying on independent product safety organizations, the process takes about a year and costs several tens of millions of won for each product. Gaining certification will cut the time to about six months and allow us to save about 3 billion won annually,'' said an LG Electronics representative.
``It will allow us to acquire global-level capabilities and techniques for analyzing the durability and safety of solar cell modules, in addition to testing our own products.''
TUV Rheinland has a 70 percent market share of the world's solar cell certification services, LG Electronics officials said.
LG Electronics expects its first solar cell line to begin mass production during the first quarter of next year, with the second line beginning full operation in early 2011. Both lines will be designed to manufacture crystalline silicon solar cells and modules with 120 megawatt capacities.
Crystalline silicon solar cells currently take up more than 80 percent of the global solar cell market, although the fast-developing thin-film solar cell segment has been competing for market share.
Crystal silicon solar cells utilize silicon wafers, while thin film solar cells coat light absorption layers and electrodes from various materials on a substrate, meaning thin-film solar cells are relatively inexpensive but low in efficiency.
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