NexWafe, a player in solar technology, is venturing into the US market with a newly established subsidiary, setting its sights on multi-gigawatt-scale solar wafer production. The ambitious project has an initial target volume of 6GW and will capitalize on NexWafe’s innovative EpiNex production technology, currently in use at the company’s 250MW commercial facility in Bitterfeld, Germany.
In a strategic move, NexWafe has appointed solar industry veteran Jonathan Pickering as Vice President of Business Development for North America. Pickering, formerly President of JA Solar Americas and a former Vice President at Applied Materials, brings a wealth of experience spanning the solar value chain, from wafer and cell processing to module manufacturing and commercial project development.
Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe, highlighted the importance of silicon wafers in the energy transition, stating, “Silicon wafers are critical materials for the energy transition, and Jonathan’s leadership will be key as we embark on establishing gigawatt-scale wafer manufacturing in the US.”
Jonathan Pickering emphasized the pressing need for a domestic source of silicon wafers in the face of increasing commitments from leading solar companies for large-scale manufacturing in the US. He outlined NexWafe’s EpiNex manufacturing process as a breakthrough solution, declaring, “Our breakthrough EpiNex direct ‘gas-to-wafer’ manufacturing process targets this exact opportunity. We are developing a gigawatt-scale facility to manufacture high-performance, American-made, thin silicon wafers to serve our US customers, and we can do so while achieving a 60% reduction in the carbon footprint compared to today’s technology.”
This move positions NexWafe as a key player in addressing the supply chain challenges for silicon wafers, aligning with the broader industry trend towards sustainable and domestically sourced components.
