Wednesday, March 12, 2008

GT Solar wins $49M deal with Chinese manufacturer

New Hampshire-based solar manufacturing equipment maker GT Solar Inc. has landed a new sales agreement with a Chinese solar manufacturer valued at $49 million.

The new deal aims to provide Trina Solar (Lianyungang) Co. Ltd. with polysilicon reactors and converters for the recently announced construction of a polysilicon production facility in Lianyungang, located in China's Jiangsu Province.

Polysilicon is the base material for solar cells.

Under terms of the agreement, GT Solar, based in Merrimack, N.H., will provide its latest technology, including its 48 rod chemical vapor deposition reactor and silicon tetrachloride hydrogenation conversion units, which convert STC to trichlorosilane, according to a company statement.

Founded in 1994, GT Solar makes manufacturing production lines for the production of photovoltaic systems, with most of its customers overseas. Last April, the company filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announcing its intention to take the company public in an offering valued at $200 million. No date for the IPO has been announced.