Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbH invests in NexWafe GmbH
Second closing in NexWafe GmbH
‘Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbHʼ (‘CPG’), site operator and infrastructure service provider of Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen, has become a shareholder of the ʻNexWafe GmbHʼ. CPG invested in NexWafe as part of a funding round led by Saudi Aramco and Green Gateway Fund II of Germany, with existing investor Lynwood (Schweiz) AG closed by end of 2017.
NexWafe is planning to establish the world’s first factory for the production of its epitaxially grown silicon wafers in Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen and in close cooperation with the ‘Silicon Products Bitterfeld GmbH & Co. KG’ (SPB), also based in the chemical park.
Dr. Stefan Reber, CEO of NexWafe, says: “Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen offers ideal conditions for building our first full scale production site. We are happy to have found in CPG and SPB two strong partners who share our vision and are able to give us comprehensive and dynamic support.”
Dr. Friedrich Schaaff and Dr. Hilmar Tiefel, Managing Directors and shareholders of SPB, point out: “Together with NexWafe, we are going to revolutionize wafer production. Our companies perfectly complement one another: While NexWafe has the know-how in the field of epitaxial wafer production, we bring in our experience in the operation of the necessary chemical production plant and in the solar industry.”
Patrice Heine, Managing Directors of CPG, explains the unusual investment of a site operator in a start-up: “We constantly analyse our feedstock network and identify new companies with a good fit. Our investment underlines our ambition to be the number one production site in Europe for startups and SMEs in advanced materials and cleantech, such as battery materials or solar wafers in this particular case.”
About the NexWafe GmbH
NexWafe GmbH is based in Freiburg, Germany and provides manufacturers of solar cells with top-quality monocrystalline silicon wafers that are fully compatible with the standard procedures for the production of cells and modules.
For the ground-breaking EpiWafer procedure, crystalline silicon layers are grown on a seed wafer and then removed without any kerf loss to form a self-supporting wafer of any desired size.
About Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbH (CPG)
Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbH is part of the GELSENWASSER group and the site operator of Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen, located between Berlin and Leipzig. Thanks to the open chemical park concept, producers benefit from both the extensive infrastructure and open market access to a wide range of services.
About the Silicon Products Bitterfeld GmbH & Co. KG (SPB)
Silicon Products Bitterfeld GmbH & Co. KG forms part of the Silicon Products Group. At Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen, SPB operates a chemical-thermal manufacturing facility for the production of silicon and related products based on chlorosilanes. The company has long years of experience and technical know-how, for instance in the production of silicon for the photovoltaics and semiconductor market.
Further information about NexWafe at: www.nexwafe.com
Contact: NexWafe GmbH, Phone +49 761 7661 18600, info@nexwafe.com