LONDON — Swiss technology group Oerlikon Corporation AG has set up a separate business unit for its solar cell and thin film activities, and as part of the reorganization Oerlikon Solar plans to double production capacity at its Truebbach, where it has established a 1MWp pilot line.

Oerlikon (Pfaffikon, Switzerland) said it expects significantly increased demand for thin film solar cells over the next few years, and indicated it plans to expand in the sector, possibly through acquisitions as well as organic growth.

The company also said it is looking to set up additional production facilities, and is evaluating locations in Asia-Pacific and the U.S.

The new business segment will be led by Jeannine Sargent, who said: "We are in a strong position to grow our market share while continuing to supply the industry with highly efficient solar manufacturing fabs."

To escalate production capacities, increase research and development activities and enter new business areas quicker, Oerlikon Solar plans to bring together all solar core competencies and new technologies under one umbrella. The company said in this way, it could better provide fully automated solar production solutions to customers including key technologies such as thin-film coating, laser advancements, specialized mechanical engineering fields and global customer support.

The pilot line will allow the group to train customer engineers under real conditions, said Detlev Koch-Ospelt, head of Solar Thin Film. "In addition we can conduct R&D and produce customer samples in a clean room environment. We will also install and use thin-film solar modules on the roof of our facility."