Stion, a manufacturer of thin-film solar modules, has
secured $130 million financing from an equity investment round led by AVACO and
Korean private equity funds.
The transaction includes a strategic partnership with
AVACO, a provider of thin-film processing equipment.
Existing investors Khosla Ventures, Taiwan Semiconductor,
Lightspeed Venture Partners, Braemar Energy Ventures, and General Catalyst
Partners all participated in the round.
“This investment and partnership represents an
exceptional opportunity for Stion. Solar has always been a global business and
this investment enables Stion to address market demand in Asia and beyond. We
have added world-class investors as well as a strategic partner with deep
technical expertise,” said
Chet Farris, Stion’s president & CEO.
This investment will help Stion’s expansion of US
manufacturing facility in Hattiesburg and the establishment of a subsidiary in
Stion Korea.
Stion
will make a $35 million initial investment into Stion Korea to build a
thin-film module factory to help serve the Asian and European markets.
AVACO and Stion will collaborate to develop next generation thin-film production
equipment, focusing on lowering costs, improving tool productivity and
increasing module efficiency.
“We are very excited to combine our advanced equipment
technology with Stion’s innovative thin-film PV module manufacturing expertise.
The strategic partnership between AVACO and Stion will accelerate each
company’s technology roadmap, thus enabling much faster growth for both
parties,” said Jae-Gon Wee, chairman of AVACO.
Stion recently produced the world’s most efficient
monolithic thin-film circuit at production scale, which was verified at 14.1
percent efficiency by the National Renewable Energy Lab.
By Greetechlead.com Team
editor@greentechlead.com