Manz AG has received the first down payment of €64.3 million in connection with CIGS orders agreed as part of its strategic cooperation with Chinese partners, the Shanghai Electric Group and the Shenhua Group.
The receipt of the payment now gives the green light for implementation of orders totaling €263 million which include a 44 MW CIGS R&D line and a 306 MW CIGS turnkey production line (CIGSfab) for series production of CIGS thin-film solar modules.
Manz AG’s sites in Germany, Slovakia and Asia are involved in the work on the orders.
“The receipt of the payment gives us the green light for executing the first major projects and for generating the corresponding revenues thanks to our unique cooperation with our Chinese partners. We are delighted that we are now setting to work, and we think there are good prospects of further attractive follow-on orders resulting from our cooperation in future,” said Dieter Manz, CEO and founder of Manz AG.
Due to further downpayment agreements for the CIGS R&D line and the CIGSfab throughout the course of the project, these orders will be realised cash flow positive. The orders will contribute to revenue and profits as from this second quarter of 2017.
The aim of the Chinese cooperation is to speed up the development of Manz’s CIGS technology, and to boost the marketing of it also in China. Two joint enterprises were founded for this purpose: while NICE PV Research Ltd. focuses on R&D activities, Suzhou Manz New Energy Equipment Co.,Ltd. is now solely responsible for the marketing activities in China, and it will provide the engineering services for future projects as well as providing support in their start-up phases.
