Written by Prognog Staff

Solar Energy Applied Materials, Inc.,  a worldwide leader in equipment and services for manufacturing semiconductors and flat panel displays, today launched its strategy to enter the rapidly growing solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment market as announced in a recent press release from the company.

Applied Materials will work towards building both tools and technology in an effort to improve the efficiency of PV panels while reducing the cost for consumers utilizing solar energy.  "The solar industry has reached the inflection point that Applied Materials has been waiting for, as solar customers seek economies of scale with suppliers who can better meet their needs for global support and who can provide advanced systems that meet technology, throughput, quality and yield goals," said Mike Splinter, president and CEO. "We plan to change the cost equation for solar power through adaptation of our existing technology and new innovation in order to help make solar a more meaningful contributor to the global energy supply."

The company believes that the worldwide energy demand will continue rising and tha recent solar energy industry estimates that the equipment related to producing and transmitting solar power will grow from $1 billion in 2006 to more than $3 billion in 2010.   "Our solar PV products, together with our roadmap for new technology and services, provide an exciting new growth engine for Applied Materials," said Mark Pinto, senior vice president and chief technology officer. "We have assembled a team of industry veterans who, combined with our global reach and technology leadership in semiconductors and flat panel display equipment, can enable customers to move through the expected transition from small-scale 20MW-40MW factories to sophisticated gigawatt-level facilities."

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