Spark Solar Australia is a new company that will manufacture and export screen-printed solar cells. Spark will produce high-quality cells on multi-crystalline silicon by combining proven industrial techniques with the latest developments in processing technology. The first production line will produce 30 MW_P per annum and will operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Spark will also develop a new solar cell design, the Angled Buried Contact (ABC) cell. This technology offers the potential for significant efficiency gains by ensuring more light enters the cell. The same wafers are used as for conventional cells, with the front-side contacts being buried at an angle.

The question we are asked most often is: ‘Why Australia?’. The real value to Spark of being in Australia is to tap into the wealth of expertise that exists here. Manufacturing offshore would provide only a marginal financial advantage, because modern production facilities are highly automated and labour costs are a small proportion of total costs.

As of May, 2008, we have a full-time staff of five with backgrounds ranging from the highly technical (PhD in photovoltaics, world efficiency record for large area, multi-crystalline silicon solar cells), through strong manufacturing experience (both in and outside photovoltaic lines world-wide) through to finance and government. We also have a strong Advisory Group, with a mixture of local and European wisdom.

This paper describes some of the challenges encountered in establishing Spark, from raising the required capital through to securing silicon supplies and even choosing a name.