MUNICH, GERMANY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 03/19/08 --
Munich, 19 March 2008 - Linde Nippon Sanso (LNS), a company of TheLinde Group, has signed an exclusive contract with Malibu GmbH & Co.KG in Bielefeld, Germany, to supply all of the gases needed to makephotovoltaic modules. The long term contract comprisesover-the-fence supply of nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2), silane (SiH4),nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), argon (Ar), and helium (He). The turnkeyinstallation includes a complete gas distribution network and gasleak detection system. LNS will also provide on-site gas andchemical management services.
Additionally, Linde and Malibu have entered into a Joint DevelopmentProgramme for the development of advanced gas technology to improvecell efficiency, throughput and yield. Malibu is a joint venturebetween energy service provider E.ON and Schüco, a major worldwideprovider of building envelope systems.
"This contract shall prove to be strategically invaluable for Linde'sfast growing Photovoltaic business", said Dr. Aldo Belloni, member ofthe Executive Board of Linde AG. "The joint development programmewill allow us to further develop our gas technology and to contributeto reducing the cost per watt in solar cell production", addedAndreas Günther, president of Linde Nippon Sanso.
Using the innovative thin-film technology, Malibu will initiallyconstruct a 40 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic module production line inOsterweddingen, Germany, incorporating multi-layer cell technologyfor increased efficiency. As the plant is scheduled to increase insize, Linde will add N2, H2 and fluorine (F2) on-site plants.
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company witharound 50,000 employees working in about 100 countries and achievedsales in the 2007 financial year of EUR 12.3 billion. The strategy ofThe Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuseson the expansion of its international business with forward-lookingproducts and services.
For more information, see The Linde Group web site at www. linde.com
For additional information:
The Linde GroupPress Investor RelationsStefan Metz Thomas EisenlohrTelephone: +49.89.35757-1322 Telephone: +49.89.35757-1330Linde Nippon SansoAndreas WeisheitBusiness Development Manager SolarTelephone: +49.89.7446-2162
Copyright © Hugin AS 2008. All rights reserved.
