On June 23, 2004, ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc opened Canada's first full-scale solar cell manufacturing plant, unveiling its new photovoltaic technology, to be produced in commercial quantities from the highly automated 193,000 sq ft facility in Cambridge, ON. ATS's Spheral Solar™ Power (SSP) technology was developed in Canada using, in large part, Canadian engineering and scientific expertise, and is considered a major breakthrough for the estimated $3.4 billion global solar photovoltaic industry.

ATS expects its Spheral Solar™ technology to accelerate the adoption of solar energy by consumer and commercial users -- and open new mainstream applications -- because it can be manufactured cost effectively. The resulting solar cells are pliable, lightweight, durable, and can be produced in a variety of colors to integrate seamlessly with traditional building materials.

With support from Technologies Partnerships Canada, current SSP development plans will result in the creation of 200 jobs and investment of more than $100 million in the Canadian economy by the end of calendar 2005.

"Spheral Solar™ Power is more than the next generation of photovoltaic technology," said Klaus Woerner, ATS president and CEO, "it will provide Canada and the world with a clean, renewable energy source that we believe may eventually rival fossil fuels on economics and ease of use. This is a proud moment for ATS and the broader communities that have participated in SSP's development because we've put Canada on the map as a leader in renewable energy innovation."

According to industry forecasts, demand for solar energy will increase at 25% per annum through 2010, driven by growing power consumption, the requirement for distributed generation, and government incentives.

Milfred Hammerbacher, president of Spheral Solar Power, said: "Countries such as Germany, the U.S., and Japan have recognized the importance of photovoltaic technology by supporting programs that ultimately lower monthly energy costs for the consumer while, at the same time, reducing dependence and costs associated with the maintenance of outdated central power generation plants."

SSP Development History

ATS announced it intended to commercialize Spheral Solar™ technology in July 2002 and received funding from Technologies Partnerships Canada for up to $29.5 million to support SSP's development.

"We've come a long way since then," said Hammerbacher. "We've achieved major breakthroughs with the base technology. On our pilot line, we've successfully created the world's largest crystalline silicon solar cell with an energy-producing surface four times larger than conventional solar cells. We've developed a marketing strategy and identified a number of potential distribution partners around the world. We've successfully recruited 115 experienced people to drive our initiative. We've designed and built some of the most complex automation ever to assemble our solar cells. And now, we've opened this state-of-the-art facility. It's been a remarkable journey and while it will take time for us realize full value from our efforts, we're now well along with our commercialization plans."

"This first factory contains a number of innovative manufacturing processes that our Automation Systems Group designed, using our 25 years of knowledge and expertise," said Woerner. "It's a showcase facility as much for its automation as for its solar manufacturing capability and we intend to make sure potential automation customers get a firsthand look at its capabilities."

ATS has begun to optimize the 26 individual production processes that are housed in the factory and SSP expects to begin shipping products this summer, as well as distributing samples to the more than 50 companies worldwide that are waiting to evaluate the technology.

SSP Factory Capacity

The SSP facility was designed to produce a targeted capacity of 20 megawatts of solar products annually -- enough to power 6,000-8,000 homes every year. Over time, it's envisioned that the facility will increase its annual capacity to 40 megawatts -- enough to power 12,000-16,000 solar rooftop systems. The factory is designed to be easily scalable when additional production capacity is required.

SSP is expected to make a significant contribution to greenhouse gas reduction. For example, if a single 40 MW SSP factory provided energy to 12,000 new homes every year through 2030, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 30 megatonnes over the lifecycle of these systems -- the equivalent of removing 12,000 mid-sized cars from the roads every year. Over the same time period, this one SSP factory would add 1,000 megawatts of new power to Ontario's electrical grid.

Another way to measure SSP's output is this: one barrel of SSP spheres (which could be produced by the factory every day assuming 40 megawatt capacity) produces the energy equivalent of 14,000 barrels of oil.