By Kari Williamson

Manz says its aim is to establish an innovation factory that focuses on the rapid further development of already leading CIGS solar technology.

The takeover is set to be concluded prospectively by early 2012.

The line has been used by Würth Solar for CIGS module production, and by Manz as part of a licensing and co-operation agreement for the further development of CIGS solar system solutions.

Dieter Manz, Manz AG's CEO, says: "Operating our own research line allows us to qualify our innovations directly in ongoing production operation. By contrast with a conventional pilot line, our innovation line, with its capacity of up to 6 MWp, will produce significantly more solar modules, which Würth Solar will continue to sell in the future.

"The agreement that we have now reached is the right response to the solar market's requirements. We are firmly convinced that CIGS will prevail on the market in the medium term due to its high cost-reduction potential. Together with Würth and the ZSW [The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg], we have developed a world record module, entailing an aperture efficiency of 15.1% in production format, within a short period of time. We can further accelerate development and expand our advance in technology with the CIGS innovation line that we are creating."