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Q-Cells Opens Japan Office

Q-Cells AG (QCE.DE), the world’s solar cell manufacturer, is opening an office in Japan today to strengthen its global position. Japan is the world market leader in the production of photovoltaic systems. “We have long established, strong relationships with wafer manufacturers and other suppliers in Japan. We intend to develop these through our local presence”, explains Anton Milner, CEO Q-Cells.” “We have been acting as supplier to a major Japanese module manufacturer for a long time”, says Milner. “Despite strong competition from Japanese companies, we see definite market opportunities for ourselves. position. Said Bjorn Sandberg, Branch Manager, “We share a common goal with our colleagues at Japanese companies: we want to make solar energy the main energy source of the future, as quickly as possible.” Partnership-based cooperation and a mutual exchange of experience are very important for this. Q-Cells also has offices in China and Hong Kong. Employees from the office manage sales activities in the Asian-Ocean region, including South Korea (one of the most important photovoltaic growth markets at this stage) and India, which could prove extremely important in the future market.

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DuPont Invests $58M in 2 Biofuels Facilities

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is investing $58 million in biofuel production assets at two facilities as part of a partnership with BP and British Sugar. This marks the progress of the biobutanol initiative first announced in June 2006. DuPont plans to construct a biobutanol demonstration facility with BP — the first of its kind in the world. In addition, DuPont, BP and British Sugar will construct a 420 million liter ethanol facility that will help meet the United Kingdom’s 2010 Renewable Fuels Obligation. Both facilities will be located at BP’s existing operations at Saltend, Hull, approximately 360 kilometers north of London. In addition, DuPont and BP will begin to deliver market development quantities of biobutanol to the U.K. by the end of the year to carry out testing on the manufacturing infrastructure and further advance the vehicle testing on this next-generation biofuel. Initial quantities will be sourced from an existing manufacturing facility in China. “Our strategy is to selectively invest in production facilities globally to meet the demand for biofuels. Today marks the first two investments of this nature,” said DuPont Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Thomas M. Connelly. “We are on track to deliver on the milestones announced […]

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Introducing Google Earth Outreach

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has launched Google Earth Outreach, a program designed to help nonprofit organizations around the world leverage the power of Google Earth to illustrate and advocate for the important work that they do. Said Elliot Schrage, Google Vice President of Global Communications & Public Affairs, “With programs like Google Earth Outreach, we seek to help create a ‘marketplace of ideas’ in the growing not-for-profit sector that rivals and complements what we offer commercial enterprises. In a very practical way, Google Earth Outreach demonstrates that technology can inspire action by bringing seemingly distant problems closer to home.” “Our goal with Google Earth Outreach is to help public service organizations worldwide leverage our mapping technology to further their goals by providing tailored technical guidance and grants,” said John Hanke, Director of Google Earth & Maps. “Now any organization can quickly and easily annotate Google Earth with pictures, video and information to tell visual, compelling stories of the work they do to over 200 million Google Earth users.” The program includes comprehensive online guides, video tutorials, and case studies about using Google Earth specifically targeted to the needs of nonprofit organizations. Online forums connect new participants to Global Awareness partners and […]

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Applied Materials to Acquire HCT Shaping Systems

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT)announced it will acquire HCT Shaping Systems SA, a privately-held company based in Switzerland. HCT is the world’s leading supplier of precision wafering systems used principally in manufacturing crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates for the solar industry. Applied will pay approximately CHF 583 million (US$475 million at the current exchange rate) in cash. The acquisition is part of Applied’s strategy to accelerate customers’ ability to reduce the costs of photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing to make solar energy more competitive with grid electricity. “This acquisition aligns well with our overall strategy to drive down the cost-per-watt of solar power for c-Si and thin film applications,” said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials. “HCT will significantly expand our opportunities in the c-Si PV technology sector, which currently comprises 90% of solar panel production. By combining HCT’s precision wafering systems with Applied’s strong manufacturing technology and global support infrastructure, we believe we can take solar wafer manufacturing to the next level of production efficiency.” After a silicon ingot is formed, HCT’s wafering systems exactly section it into thin substrates for subsequent use in fabricating c-Si solar cells. As a result of the substantial expansion of the solar industry, […]

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Stion Raises $15M

Stion, a company that’s developing high-efficiency thin-film solar modules, has raised a $15 million Series B financing led by Lightspeed Venture Partners). General Catalyst Partners also participated, as did all three existing investors – Khosla Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures and Moser Baer Photovoltaic. Stion is aiming to minimize the total installed system cost of solar electricity. The Company will use the Series B funds to accelerate its product development effortsm, taking it to the early commercialization phase. Stion was founded in 2006. Its technology is based on the work of Dr. Howard Lee, a leading researcher in nanotechnology and semiconductor materials. Website: http://www.stion.com     

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