October 1, 2007 – Taiwan’s Mosel Vitelic Inc. has signed a five-year, $190 million deal to receive multicrystalline solar wafers from Chinese firm LDK Solar, in the Taiwan firm’s first big (and public) solar-cell materials procurement deal. Deliveries are slated to start next year.

Publicly traded LDK (it debuted on the NYSE this summer) is the largest supplier of silicon wafers for polycrystalline solar cells in China, with anticipated production capacity of 400MW by the end of this year and plans to hike to 1000MW in 2008. (Taiwan’s biggest solar cell Green Energy Technology Inc. puts out only roughly 200MW, notes the Taiwan Economic News). LDK also sells the silicon to Taiwan’s E-ton Solar Tech Co., whom Mosel is using to ramp a second production line for solar cells next year. With the added influx from LDK, Mosel should have 80% of the needed raw material supplies it needs for next year, the paper noted.

Better known for its chip production — recent reports indicate it is one of several 2nd-tier Taiwan chipmakers overflowing with production orders, and recently signed a deal with Aviza to develop ALD materials — Mosel Vitelic has managed to back out of DRAM agency sales, as it eyes new business in solar cells. Its lone production line started mass production in July, and sales jumped 80% in August to about $19M, the majority of the company’s $24M in total monthly revenues, the paper noted. Sales are projected to level off at $7-$8M/month, with profits of 15%-20%, and the company wants to have half its total revenues from solar cells by the end of this year. The company is adding another line in 2H08 offering double the current output of 30 MW, and two more lines are already being planned for next year as well.