Qatar Foundation will have a majority shareholding in Qatar Solar Technologies, or QST, a joint venture with SolarWorld AG, one of the world's largest solar companies, which is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. Qatar Foundation's ownership stake will be 70%, and that of SolarWorld 29%, with an additional 1% in the hands of the Qatar Development Bank.
QST will develop a new plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City, in the north east of Qatar, which will be one of the first operational polysilicon plants in the region. The plant will produce well over 3,500 tonnes per annum and has been designed with future expansion in mind which would enable it to significantly increase production capacity.
The initial investment in Qatar Solar Technologies is valued at over USD$500m and will provide employment for several hundred people in a wide range of fields.
Qatar Foundation's first investment in the renewable energy sector supports their strategic objectives to diversify Qatar's economy, drive high-technology research and development in the country, and promote the Foundation's financial sustainability. It is also evidence of the commitment of Qatar Foundation and the State of Qatar to addressing the pressing environmental concerns of our day by investing in renewable energy.
The process technology and equipment to produce polysilicon will come from the leading German solar company Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG. Centrotherm Photovoltaics specialises in providing key equipment and services for the solar industry. The contract was awarded immediately after the joint venture announcement.
Further contract awards are expected to take place in the near future.
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Qatar Foundation enters solar energy sector with launch of Qatar Solar Technologies
- Qatar: Tuesday, March 02 - 2010 at 10:17
- PRESS RELEASE
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Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development today announced its entry into the solar energy sector through the creation of a joint venture company which in the first phase will produce solar grade polysilicon, the essential ingredient of solar panels.
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Posted by Siba Sami AmmariTuesday, March 02 - 2010 at 10:17 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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About Qatar Solar Technologies:
Qatar Solar Technologies is a joint venture company that was established in 2010 by Qatar Foundation and is dedicated to the advancement of the solar energy sector. Qatar Solar Technologies is a joint venture between Qatar Foundation, SolarWorld AG and the Qatar Development Bank. Qatar Solar Technologies will be located in Ras Laffan Industrial Park and will be producing polysilicon for use in the solar industry. The first phase of the project is valued at over USD$500Mn. Delivering polysilicon of the highest quality to our customers is our highest priority. To ensure the highest level of quality Qatar Solar Technologies has partnered with some of the world's leading solar organizations.
Construction of the plant will begin in 2010.
About Qatar Foundation:
Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, non-profit organization committed to the principle that a nation's greatest natural resource is its people.
The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship project, Education City, an eight million square-metre campus which hosts numerous progressive learning institutions and centres of research, including branch campuses of five of the world's leading universities, plus a cutting-edge research and development centre. Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in community health and development.
For more information, please visit www.qf.org.qa.
About SolarWorld AG:
About SolarWorld AG: The SolarWorld AG Group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are located in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The group's largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro, United States. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar power solutions in emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted since 1999 on the stock exchange and today is listed on, among others, the TecDax, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600, the international MSCI Index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
For more information on SolarWorld AG, please visit www.solarworld.de.
About Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG:
Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG, which is based at Blaubeuren, is one of the world's leading technology and service-providers for the manufacturing of solar cells and solar silicon. The broad product range comprises key equipment and turnkey production lines for crystalline and thin-film solar cells. The product range is supplemented by engineering, reactors, converters and vent gas recovery systems for the manufacturing of solar silicon and equipment for the production of power Semiconductors. Centrotherm Photovoltaics guarantees its turnkey customers important performance parameters such as production capacity, degree of efficacy and completion deadlines for turnkey lines. The Group employs over 1,100 staff members, and operates in Europe, Asia and the USA. Centrotherm Photovoltaics achieved revenue in the 2008 financial year of EUR375m, EBIT of EUR56m, and is listed in the TecDax of the Frankfurt Securities Exchange.
For more information on Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG, please visit www.centrotherm-pv.de.
About Polysilicon and the solar renewable market:
Polycrystalline silicon (or semicrystalline silicon, polysilicon, poly-Si or just poly) is a material consisting of multiple small silicon cells. Silicon normally combines with oxygen to form sand - but when the oxygen is removed, polysilicon remains.
Polycrystalline silicon is a key component of solar cells and modules.
For more information, please contact:
Craig Field
Public Relations and Events Manager
Qatar Solar Technologies
Tel: +974 5147628
Qatar Solar Technologies is a joint venture company that was established in 2010 by Qatar Foundation and is dedicated to the advancement of the solar energy sector. Qatar Solar Technologies is a joint venture between Qatar Foundation, SolarWorld AG and the Qatar Development Bank. Qatar Solar Technologies will be located in Ras Laffan Industrial Park and will be producing polysilicon for use in the solar industry. The first phase of the project is valued at over USD$500Mn. Delivering polysilicon of the highest quality to our customers is our highest priority. To ensure the highest level of quality Qatar Solar Technologies has partnered with some of the world's leading solar organizations.
Construction of the plant will begin in 2010.
About Qatar Foundation:
Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, non-profit organization committed to the principle that a nation's greatest natural resource is its people.
The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship project, Education City, an eight million square-metre campus which hosts numerous progressive learning institutions and centres of research, including branch campuses of five of the world's leading universities, plus a cutting-edge research and development centre. Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in community health and development.
For more information, please visit www.qf.org.qa.
About SolarWorld AG:
About SolarWorld AG: The SolarWorld AG Group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are located in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The group's largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro, United States. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar power solutions in emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted since 1999 on the stock exchange and today is listed on, among others, the TecDax, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600, the international MSCI Index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
For more information on SolarWorld AG, please visit www.solarworld.de.
About Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG:
Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG, which is based at Blaubeuren, is one of the world's leading technology and service-providers for the manufacturing of solar cells and solar silicon. The broad product range comprises key equipment and turnkey production lines for crystalline and thin-film solar cells. The product range is supplemented by engineering, reactors, converters and vent gas recovery systems for the manufacturing of solar silicon and equipment for the production of power Semiconductors. Centrotherm Photovoltaics guarantees its turnkey customers important performance parameters such as production capacity, degree of efficacy and completion deadlines for turnkey lines. The Group employs over 1,100 staff members, and operates in Europe, Asia and the USA. Centrotherm Photovoltaics achieved revenue in the 2008 financial year of EUR375m, EBIT of EUR56m, and is listed in the TecDax of the Frankfurt Securities Exchange.
For more information on Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG, please visit www.centrotherm-pv.de.
About Polysilicon and the solar renewable market:
Polycrystalline silicon (or semicrystalline silicon, polysilicon, poly-Si or just poly) is a material consisting of multiple small silicon cells. Silicon normally combines with oxygen to form sand - but when the oxygen is removed, polysilicon remains.
Polycrystalline silicon is a key component of solar cells and modules.
For more information, please contact:
Craig Field
Public Relations and Events Manager
Qatar Solar Technologies
Tel: +974 5147628
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