Thin film technology in the early parts of the decade was looked upon as a competitor for crystalline silicon solar technology. However, the rapid scale-up and reducing costs of silicon solar technology made many of the thin film startups go bust one by one, as they could not climb up the technology curve fast enough. Some of the thin film startups were bought for a very cheap price by the Chinese company, Hanergy which bought a number of thin film companies such as Miasole, Solibro, Alta Devices, etc.

Hanergy, however, was built on fraudulent means as the company’s market capitalization rose to crazy heights in the HK market and ultimately led to a bust. Its acquired companies are also now imploding with Solibro and Alta Devices closing down after firing all their employees. The company finally got delisted in 2019 and has been facing huge liquidity pressures with employees of the company reportedly not getting their salaries for five months. While the company’s going bankrupt is not a surprise, what is a surprise is that it kept running for so long despite allegations of fraud being leveled against its CEO as early as 2015. The company’s business strategy seemed stupid to anyone with a modicum of common sense as its valuations and profitability ratios seemed out of whack.

Some of the most promising thin film solar companies such as Miasole now face obliteration with production shutdowns and the firing of their employees. During the early part of the decade, they were looked upon as the next First solar. However, their parentage was always suspect and it is a surprise that these companies managed to run along for so long.  Global Solar Energy is another CIGS-based flexible solar company bought by Hanergy that saw its funding got cut off in December.