Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM) and Centrosolar Group AG (C3O.DE) have signed a manufacturing deal that flips the customary relationship in the solar and eletronics manufacturing industry.
For a number of years, Taiwan has been a low-cost manufacturing center for European and U.S. companies, leading to the rise of strong companies like TSMC.
Now TSMC is contracting Centrosolar–a Germany company–to manufacture TSMC-branded solar modules.
Centrosolar will be the exclusive European manufacturer of crystalline solar modules for TSMC.
Centrosolar will supply TSMC with an initial module capacity of 100 MWp per year using solar cells provided by TSMC. The companies are also discussing the possibility of further collaboration in the areas of product development and process engineering.
Centrosolar will build up the capacity required for this agreement in a new production building adjacent to its plant in Wismar, Germany, and the first deliveries under the agreement are due in the third quarter of 2011.
TSMC and Centrosolar did not disclose the financial terms of the manufacturing agreement.
The construction of a new production hall and warehouse in Wismar will give Centrosolar the space to increase its existing capacity from currently 200 MWp to up to 500 MWp per year. The manufacturing will be used for its own business and for contract manufacturing. The first phase, which is to be completed by 3Q11 will add an additional 150 MWp of manufacturing capacity and provide an additional 300 solar jobs in Wismar, bringing the workforce there to 700. Once the new facilities are fully equipped, Centrosolar will potentially have a workforce of over 1,000 people at Wismar.
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