Ground breaking for largest CIGS solar module production in China. AVANCIS provides CIGS technology for 1.5 GW factory in Bengbu.

CNBM, China’s largest building materials group and parent company of German CIGS module manufacturer AVANCIS, has celebrated ground breaking for one of the largest solar modules production lines in China. With the gradual installation leading to an annual capacity of 1.5 gigawatts covering a total area of 270,000 square meters, the largest and most technologically advanced solar production plant for CIGS modules will be built in Bengbu (Province of Anhui). The CIGS technology for these production sites will be supplied by AVANCIS.

For this project, CTIEC, the engineering and project development branch of CNBM, the Bengbu Investment Group and the Bengbu Gaoxin Investment Group plan to invest in total 1.43 billion Euro.”In addition to the basic cost benefits of a fully integrated thin-film production, this expansion also enables us to take advantage of volume effects for further cost reductions”, explains Dr. Franz Karg, CEO of AVANCIS. “With this giant solar project, we also use the unique opportunity to produce and market our thin film technology locally in the center of the world’s largest photovoltaic market.”

Go ahead for the first 300 MW plant
As a leading manufacturer of CIGS modules AVANCIS will provide the technology for the first 300 MW production site with a total floor space of 55,000 square meters. Start of production is planned for the 2017. The existing production line of AVANCIS in Germany will be continuously expanded in order to serve the European Market as previously planned.