SHANGHAI, Jun 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Praxair China has signed a multi-year agreement with Evergreen Solar Energy China Co., Ltd. to supply bulk industrial gases for its solar wafer manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China. Evergreen Solar develops, manufactures and markets solar-power products based on its proprietary, low-cost STRING RIBBON(TM) wafer methodology which uses significantly less polysilicon than conventional ingot processes.
"Praxair has been a critical supplier of Evergreen Solar in the U.S. for several years, and has proven to be a highly reliable supplier of bulk gas to our manufacturing operations. We look forward to their strong presence in China to assist us with our growth plans," said Henry Ng, Evergreen Solar Energy's manager of Asia operations.
"Evergreen Solar is a valued customer of Praxair in the U.S., and we look forward to enabling their expansion into China," said David Chow, president of Praxair China. "Praxair is well positioned to serve the rapidly growing photovoltaic market within China, with its comprehensive offering of gas and sputtering target products and its reliable global supply network."
Praxair's products, delivery systems and technologies are provided worldwide throughout the photovoltaic supply chain, enabling the production of crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic devices. Praxair is the largest industrial gas supplier to the polysilicon market, and is currently serving more than 50 photovoltaic manufacturing facilities worldwide with a combined capacity of over 6 gigawatts.
Praxair gas offerings used in photovoltaic manufacturing include bulk, onsite and specialty gases such as silane, ammonia, high purity argon, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorous and boron dopants, and associated gas delivery systems.
Praxair also offers a full suite of planar and tubular sputtering targets for the deposition of metal and transparent conducting oxide thin-film layers which are critical to the performance of photovoltaic devices. Praxair is a leader in the development of aluminum-zinc-oxide, copper, nickel vanadium and aluminum next-generation tubular targets, which enable more cost-effective fabrication of thin-film photovoltaic cells.
About Praxair China
Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd is a leading industrial gas provider in China. It is headquartered in Shanghai, has 19 wholly owned companies, 9 joint ventures and over 1,300 employees in the country. More information on Praxair China is available on the Internet at www.praxair.cn
About Praxair
Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2009 sales of $9 billion. For seven consecutive years, the company has been selected as a component of the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index. Praxair products, services and technologies bring efficiency and environmental benefits to customers in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, electronics, energy, food and beverage, healthcare, metals, manufacturing and others.
