At a groundbreaking ceremony in Arnstadt, Germany, attended by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Bosch Group has begun the expansion of its solar production, setting up a new manufacturing facility for crystalline solar cells and modules.

“This investment is part of our increasing activities in renewable energies. These energies are increasingly gaining in significance, and will be integral to the energy mix of the future. Bosch recognized this at an early stage, and is already a major supplier to the wind-power in­dustry, as well as of solar collectors and heat pumps for heating systems,” said Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH.

The new manufacturing facility of the Bosch subsidiary ersol would, he said, create additional capacity for the manufacture of up to 90 million solar cells per year. Given the average insolation value for Erfurt, this quantity of cells can theoretically generate enough electricity to supply all the private households in the city, which has a population of roughly 200,000. Bosch will invest some €530 million in Arnstadt between now and 2012. Roughly 1,100 new jobs will be created.



“The state of Thuringia is one of the prime locations for the solar industry, to which ersol Solar Energy AG also belongs. It is part of an innovative, strongly growing industry that has become established in the state over the past few years. And it is an industry with bright prospects,” said Birgit Diezel, Thuringia’s deputy minister-president.

The new building will house manufacturing facilities for crystalline solar cells and module production. With this investment, ersol Solar Energy AG will nearly triple its pre­sent manufacturing capacity in the crystalline field to a nominal capacity of some 630 megawatt peak, and in this way to boost its growth trajectory. In addition, its existing research and development activities will be expanded, and a new administrative building will be constructed. Start of production is scheduled for the beginning of 2010.

“Energy technology is at the center of our long-term strategy,” said Dr. Siegfried Dais, deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management. “In the long run, energy demand and energy prices will increase considerably, and the conservation of resources and climate protection will become ever more urgent tasks for society. The utilization of renewable energy, and es­pecially solar energy, will therefore take on increasing significance,” Dais said.

Since 2005, the Bosch subsidiary ersol has grown by an average of 70 per cent per year. “While we expect this rapid growth to weaken temporarily as a result of the financial crisis, the market will return to its previous strength by 2010 at the latest,” said Holger von Hebel, the chairman of the ersol board of management.