Industry | Solar Energy Manufacturing |
---|---|
Founded | 2006 |
Defunct | 2017 |
Website | http://www.stion.com |
The Stion Corporation was a solar company based in the United States with headquarters in San Jose, CA and manufacturing in Hattiesburg, MS. Founded in 2006, Stion developed [1] thin-film solar panels. The company was majority backed by Khosla Ventures. Stion also provided turn-key solar systems for end users of electricity through its vertically integrated development arm, Stion Energy Services. The company ceased operations in 2017 citing foreign competition.
Stion developed thin-film CIGS solar modules manufactured in Hattiesburg, MS. With a capacity of 150 megawatts of annual production the plant was the first thin-film solar solar factory in the Southeast US. Stion began manufacturing in 2011. Stion panels were manufactured using glass on glass and a monolithically integrated solar cell. Stion produced both framed and frameless modules which had been used for residential, commercial, utility and off-grid applications.
In 2017 Stion confirmed reports that it would be discontinuing operations. [2] The company blamed "intense, non-market competition from foreign solar panel manufacturers, especially those based in China and proxy countries" for its cessation of operations. Stion announced that it would it would close its Hattiesburg, MS plant on December 13, 2017, laying off 137 employees in the process. [3] By 2020 the Stion company was being refereed to as "defunct" [4] In this year the State of Mississippi settled a case against the vestiges of Stion for $2.5 million, after the state's Development Authority had earlier lent the company $75 million which had not been repaid.
Applied Materials, Inc. is an American corporation that supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor chips for electronics, flat panel displays for computers, smartphones, televisions, and solar products. The company also supplies equipment to produce coatings for flexible electronics, packaging and other applications. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and is the second largest supplier of semiconductor equipment in the world based on revenue behind ASML of Netherlands.
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris as the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs, and today headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it also produces a variety of construction, high-performance, and other materials. Saint-Gobain is present in 76 countries and as of 2022 employs more than 170,000 people.
Schott AG is a German multinational glass company specializing in the manufacture of glass and glass-ceramics. Headquartered in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, it is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. The company's founder and namesake, Otto Schott, is credited with the invention of borosilicate glass.
A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. The electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct current (DC) electricity, which can be used to power various devices or be stored in batteries. Solar panels are also known as solar cell panels, solar electric panels, or PV modules.
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) was an American photovoltaics manufacturer of thin-film solar cells made of amorphous silicon used in flexible laminates and in building-integrated photovoltaics. The company was also a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries and other renewable energy related products. ECD was headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Moser Baer was an Indian multinational manufacturer of optical discs, storage devices, CDs, DVDs, based in New Delhi. The company was present in over 100 countries, serviced through 15 marketing offices and representatives, and had tie-ups with other optical media storage manufacturers. Its products were manufactured at its three plants in New Delhi, which employed over 8,000 people. The company had subsidiaries that manufactured photovoltaic cells and modules using crystalline silicon and thin film technologies.
LG Display Co., Ltd. is one of the world's largest manufacturers and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. LG Display is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and currently operates nine fabrication facilities and seven back-end assembly facilities in South Korea, China, Poland and Mexico.
Nanosolar was a developer of solar power technology. Based in San Jose, CA, Nanosolar developed and briefly commercialized a low-cost printable solar cell manufacturing process. The company started selling thin-film CIGS panels mid-December 2007, and planned to sell them at 99 cents per watt, much below the market at the time. However, prices for solar panels made of crystalline silicon declined significantly during the following years, reducing most of Nanosolar's cost advantage. By February 2013 Nanosolar had laid off 75% of its work force. Nanosolar began auctioning off its equipment in August 2013. Co-Founder of Nanosolar Martin Roscheisen stated on his personal blog that nanosolar "ultimately failed commercially." and that he would not enter this industry again because of slow-development cycle, complex production problems and the impact of cheap Chinese solar power production. Nanosolar ultimately produced less than 50 MW of solar power capacity despite having raised more than $400 million in investment.
First Solar, Inc. is a publicly traded American manufacturer of solar panels, and provider of utility-scale PV power plants, supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses rigid thin-film modules for its solar panels, and produces CdTe panels using cadmium telluride (CdTe) as a semiconductor. The company was founded in 1990 by inventor Harold McMaster as Solar Cells, Inc. and the Florida Corporation in 1993 with JD Polk. In 1999 it was purchased by True North Partners, LLC, who rebranded it as First Solar, Inc.
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HelioVolt Corporation was a privately held solar energy company based in Austin, Texas that suspended operations in 2014. The company manufactured photovoltaic (PV) solar modules using a thin film semiconductor process based on copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) to produce CIGS solar cells. HelioVolt manufactured these thin film modules for commercial rooftop, utility-scale ground mount, residential, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and custom installations. The company raised over $230 million in investments, including over $80 million by SK Group.
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tenKsolar is a company that designs, manufactures and markets an integrated photovoltaic system that leverages integrated electronics and a low-voltage, parallel architecture. Compared to conventional solar systems, the architecture provides 45% better energy density, higher reliability, and is the only PV system that is both shock and arch flash safe.
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Hanergy Holding Group Ltd. (Hanergy) is a Chinese multinational company headquartered in Beijing. The company is focusing on thin-film solar value chain, including manufacturing and solar parks development. It also owns the Jinanqiao Hydroelectric Power Station and two wind farms. Hanergy is founded and controlled by Li Hejun.
Siva Power, Inc. is an American solar power company that developed thin-film technology. The company designed and manufactured copper indium gallium deselenide (CIGS) photovoltaics. Siva Power is based in San Jose, California. Bruce Sohn is CEO and Mark Heising is Chairman.
Flisom is a developer and manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) thin film solar cells located near Zürich, Switzerland, founded in 2005. The company produces high-efficiency CIGS thin film solar modules on flexible plastic foil using proprietary roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques.
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