Honda,the Japanese auto giant has also joined the Solar Energy Race by selling Thin Film Modules based on CIGs technology.Japan’s conglomerates like Sharp,Kyocera,Mitsubishi and Panasonic already have big solar manufacturing operations with Sharp being the largest Solar Company in the World.Honda which has a small presence in the Solar Energy through its subsidiary Honda Soltec is expanding its lines of modules for the domestic market.Note South Korean Chaebols like Hanwha,Samsung,Hyundai and Taiwanese biggies like TSMC and AUO have a put in huge investments into solar manufacturing recently
Honda’s modules have an efficiency of 11.6% which seems lower than those claimed by the TSMC-Stion,Miasole and Q-Cells.These companies are claiming 13% efficiency though none of these companies have large scale commercial production as of now.Q-Cells and Miasole are at the head of the CIGs pack with companies like Nanosolar,Solyndra,Solar Frontier and TSMC-Stion closely following.CIGs technology is said to be the best thin film technology better than the Cd-Te technology used by First Solar and a-Si technology used by Sharp and the now bankrupt Applied Materials thin film division.
Honda Soltec Begins Sales of New Residential-use Solar Cell Module – MarketWatch
Google+Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., Honda’s wholly-owned solar cell subsidiary, today began sales of two new residential-use solar cell modules with maximum output of 130W and 120W respectively, as well as a power conditioner with rated output of 5.5kW, adding to its lineup of home-use modules.
Honda Soltec has advanced its solar cell production technology to improve the quality of the electricity-generating layer. As a result, the new residential-use solar cell module with maximum output of 130W achieves solar energy conversion efficiency of 11.6%(1), which is the highest among CIGS-based solar cells currently being sold in Japan. In order to meet the diversified needs of its customers, Honda Soltec is also enhancing its product lineup with the addition of a residential-use solar cell module with maximum output of 120W and a large-capacity power conditioner with rated output of 5.5 kW..
About Honda Soltec Co., Ltd.
Establishment: December 1, 2006 Headquarters: 2042 Hirakawa, Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto (Within Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Kumamoto Factory) Sales Office: Wako, Saitama; Osaka, Osaka; Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Capital Investment: 4 billion yen Capitalization ratio: 100% Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President: Akio Kazusa Employment: Approximately 180 associates Prod. Capacity: Approximately 27.5MW (approx. for 9,000 houses with 3kW system)
