- News
25 June 2014
Ascent reaches milestone for proposed JV with China’s Suqian City
Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA, which makes lightweight, flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic modules that it integrates into its EnerPlex series of consumer products, has announced the achievement of a milestone related to the Definitive Agreement signed in December 2013 with the Government of the Municipal City of Suqian in Jiangsu Province, China.
As previously announced in July 2013, Suqian will build a facility to manufacture Ascent's proprietary CIGS PV modules on flexible thin films. Ascent and Suqian will also form a joint venture (JV) in which Ascent’s share will grow progressively up to 80% based on an ascribed value of its contributions to the JV.
Under the terms of the Definitive Agreement, in phases 1 and 2 of the project, Ascent is required to contribute to the JV manufacturing equipment, intellectual property (IP) assets, proprietary technology and know-how, and cash for its ownership share, and Suqian is required to contribute cash for its ownership share. Phases 1 and 2 require total contributions of RMB800m (about $129m) from Ascent and RMB200m (about $32m) from Suqian.
Ascent and Suqian are also required to ascribe a dollar value to Ascent’s non-cash contributions. The major milestone is the agreement by the Suqian government to credit RMB480m (about $77m) to Ascent’s contribution of its proprietary technology, which represents 60% towards Ascent’s total required contribution of $129m. In order to value Ascent’s intellectual property assets, the parties jointly agreed to hire an independent appraisal company in China, which has now completed that review and has submitted the valuation report to each of the JV partners. This report valued Ascent’s intellectual property assets at RMB402m (about $65m). The remaining 40% of Ascent’s contribution will be in the form of some equipment from its Colorado plant and/or cash. The exact amounts of cash and equipment will be determined at a later date. These amounts will depend on (among other things) an assessment of the contributed equipment by a Chinese appraisal firm mutually selected by Ascent and Suqian.
The actual contributions of cash and other assets into the JV by Ascent and Suqian will happen incrementally over time. In addition, under the Definitive Agreement, Suqian has agreed to provide rent-free use of the 331,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and office space that is currently being built for Ascent in the Suqian Economic and Industrial Development Science Park.
“This agreement underscores the belief by the Suqian government that Ascent’s CIGS on flexible thin-film technology has a bright future,” states Ascent’s president & CEO Victor Lee. “Suqian has chosen Ascent to anchor the Suqian Economic and Industrial Development Science Park,” he adds. “We plan to move quickly to next steps in the partnership, with the goal of achieving scaled manufacturing capacity enabling dramatic cost reduction of our CIGS modules.”
China’s Suqian City to provide $32.5m via JV with Ascent to build 25MW CIGS PV manufacturing plant
©2006-2020
Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. All rights reserved. Semiconductor
Today and the editorial material contained within it and related media is
the copyright of Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. Reproduction in
whole or part without permission from Juno Publishing and Media Solutions
Ltd is forbidden. In most cases, permission will be granted, if the magazine
and publisher are acknowledged.