An additional 50 jobs will be created through future expansions of the facility, by which point Innotech Solar anticipates processing up to 20.000 solar cells per hour from various manufacturers.
Innotech Solar CEO Thor Christian Tuv said the location of Halle was selected for a number of reasons. "The keys for us were the infrastructure, such as the direct link to the A14 highway, the support of the country and the city, the availability of well-trained staff and the powerful solar competence network in the region," he explained.
Headquartered in Norway, with subsidiaries in Germany, China and Switzerland, the Innotech Solar Group specialises in the analysis and optimisation of solar cells, using a process developed by its own research teams.
As a result, the company tests, sorts and optimises more cells from various manufacturers than any other cell or module supplier in the world.
But it wasn’t just the technical side of the business that was on the minds of participants in the foundation stone laying ceremony today; economic development and the region’s burgioning reputation as a hub for the solar sector was also on many people’s lips.
“By establishing this facility, Innotech Solar has given additional proof of Saxony-Anhalt’s attractiveness as a location for photovoltaics companies,” said Dr. Reiner Haseloff, Minister of Economy and Labour of Saxony-Anhalt.
“The fact that the district of Halle-Saale on the A14 highway has won the international competition against 30 other locations sends a clear signal,” Haseloff said. “So once again, supporting the development of estates in areas with good infrastructure, while creating an ideal environment for research and development through the establishment of the Fraunhofer Centre for Silicon-Photovoltaics in Halle and Schkopau, has paid off.”
Mayor Dagmar Szabado echoed that sentiment.
“In Halle, new technologies have traditionally played an important role and renewable energies are a key technology of this century,” she said. “The Innotech Solar site links tradition with innovation, opening a new chapter in Halle’s industrial history.”
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