Evolution Solar acquires Chinese R&D firm

Source: Manufacturing Digital

Date :7/31/2008 4:21:27 AM

Evolution Solar Corp has acquired Synergy Design and Development Company Limited, a Hong Kong R&D and procurement company based in Shanghai, China.

Evolution Solar most recently announced its plans to develop alternative energy technologies using thin film solar panels.

"The acquisition of Synergy should give Evolution Solar an edge over the competition in sourcing materials and the manufacturing process of photovoltaic technology," stated Robert Kaapke, CEO of Evolution Solar.

"The historical growth within the solar industry is creating a huge demand on suppliers and manufacturers in the market."

Evolution Solar is planning to establish a footprint with the manufacturing capabilities in the Asian markets that can assist in the reduction in the manufacturing and procurement of materials in the heavy technology manufacturing province of Shanghai, China.

China, which passed a landmark renewable energy law in January 2007, has pledged to spend some US$200 billion over the next 15 years on renewable energy with a goal of achieving 20 percent total energy consumption from green fuel sources.

China's interest in renewables has translated into a rapidly expanding base of at least a dozen publicly held domestic solar energy and wind energy concerns, among them: Solarfun Power Holdings and JA Solar Holdings.

Some think the U.S. could be generating 10 percent of its electricity from the sun within 10-15 years, and Scientific American published a scheme last year for drawing almost 70 percent of our power using solar by 2050. Recently, Merrill Lynch's Mark Heller noted that solar startups raised more money in 2007-8 than Internet stocks did in their 1998 heyday.