LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, has entered into an exclusive agreement with solar energy leader REC Wafer of Norway to purchase multicrystalline silicon wafers.

The deal will be officially signed on January 22 in Seoul, South Korea.

“We are committed to investing in and developing clean energy solutions by fully leveraging our cumulative R&D knowledge and mass-manufacturing expertise. Our relationship with REC will give us an opportunity to further our goal of becoming a global leader in solar and renewable energy technologies,” said managing director of LGE Levant Kevin Cha.
 
The agreement between LG and REC is structured as a five-year contract with pre-determined prices of more than $340 million for the entire contract period. LG will begin to receive wafers with limited volumes in 2010 and the delivery amount will increase over the contract period until 2014.
 
“We are proud to have LG Electronics, one of the world’s leaders in consumer electronics, as a strategic partner. Working with LG will give us an exciting opportunity to learn from their extensive mass production and technology development experience,” said president and CEO of REC Group Erik Thorsen.

Taking the initiative in alternative energy development, LG Electronics and its sister companies within LG Group have secured an integrated value chain for solar power production, including production of key components such as solar cells and modules.

LG Electronics sees solar energy as a new growth engine for the company and has even established a solar cell business team under its CTO. The company is also making significant investments in solar energy research and development.

Industry experts forecast that crystalline silicon solar cells will make up the 80 per cent of the solar industry by 2010, overtaking thin film solar cells.

Crystalline silicon solar cells are based on silicon wafers, while thin film solar cells are made by coating light absorbing layers and electrodes from various materials on a substrate.

Thin film solar cells are less expensive than crystalline silicon, but also much less efficient. Currently, the global solar industry market is valued at more than $10 billion. – TradeArabia News Service