Oerlikon aims to streamline thin-film solar-page 2

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It could take a couple years to see the results of these investments. What benchmarks would indicate success?

We're seeing those accomplishments now. The levels of accomplishments are, for us: we announced that Sunwell, one of our customers in Taiwan, achieved their line of production in less than nine months (see Oerlikon gets supply deal with CMC). We’re seeing that time to revenue improve for thin film, which is important.

If you talk to thin film module manufacturers, most of them will tell you they’re sold out of all their capacity through 2010. So the demand capacity for thin film modules is exceeding supply, and that’s not something you’re seeing in crystalline silicon.

In your experience, have there been any other times when such intensive capitalization has happened?

In thin film certainly not. In my over-20 years working in the high-tech spaces, only since early 80s in semiconductors did you see this high tech growth in manufacturing on a mass-production level. Clearly another boom was the Internet boom in the ’90s.

Now that there’s capital and attempts at scaling, what other challenges do these manufacturers face?

The lessons to be learned from consumer electronics is you’re facing ever-increasing demands for performance simultaneously with demands for a cost reduction, so the cost-performance ratio is something you’re always having to take care of. So you must improve the cost of production while continuing to innovate.

Solar PV and particularly thin film have the same type of challenge: We’re competing against a commoditized electric market, and in that way it has an even higher hurdle to overcome. So we need to simultaneously improve performance while reducing cost and truly do so on a large scale. We have to innovate faster, and not take 10 to 15 years like it took us to do it in the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductors are now produced like a commodity. Do you see that happening in thin film?

Unlike the semiconductor industry, there’s room for innovation in thin film. With the ability to innovate and improve that price performance, we have several years or a decade of innovation that will parallel the price reduction.

Oerlikon and Applied Materials are two of the larger players in thin-film production lines (see Oerlikon files suit against Sunfilm). Do you expect more competition to enter the sector?

Due to technological barriers, as well as the infrastructure or momentum barriers, you are taking about single-digit players that have a role to play, and there is likely to be consolidation over the next few years.

You’re one of the few woman CEOs in cleantech. What’s that like?

That’s the exciting thing about the opportunity to be in emerging, growing market space. I’ve spent most of my career in such markets, and I think what continues to be appreciated in markets like this is technological innovation. We really strive to acquire the best talent, and in that regard cultural diversity and gender diversity is somewhat accepted because you have to get the best people.