Meyer Burger


Meyer Burger, headquartered in Thun, is a globally active mechanical engineering company, which is primarily known for its production facilities in the photovoltaic industry. Meyer Burger develops and produces systems with which solar cells can be manufactured and electrically connected for use in solar modules. The focus is on heterojunction technology and the exclusive SmartWire Connection Technology. High-precision measuring systems for silicon wafers, solar cells and modules are also offered. From spring 2021, the company will produce solar cells and solar modules itself at two locations in Germany.
Meyer Burger also develops and sells industrial inkjet, plasma and microwave systems, primarily for the semiconductor and optical industries, in other divisions and through subsidiaries.

History

The company was founded in 1953 as a manufacturer of watch stone processing machines and subsequently specialised in special sawing machines. In 1999, the company set up a holding structure with the foundation of Meyer & Burger Holding AG in Zug and launched the first band saw for the solar industry on the market in the same year.
In the course of the growing solar industry, the company began to open up the Russian, Asian and American markets in 2003 and continued its expansion with the establishment of subsidiaries in China and Japan.
In 2006, the Group was renamed Meyer & Burger Holding Ltd to Meyer Burger Technology Ltd and its headquarters moved to Baar. The company went public in November 2007. In 2012, the Group headquarters were relocated to Thun following the move into the new building.
Between 2010 and 2012, the Group was significantly enlarged through various corporate takeovers in order to be able to cover the entire value chain in photovoltaic production with its own production machines. The most important products were diamond wire saws for cutting ultra-thin silicon wafers, coating systems to build functioning solar cells from wafers, and systems for the manufacture of complete solar modules.
In the meantime, the corporate structure has been adapted and the focus has been placed on the areas of solar cell production and connection, i.e. on heterojunction cell coating and SmartWire Connection Technology for cell connection. In this context, the entire "Sawing and Cutting Technology" division was sold to Precision Surfacing Solutions in May 2019. While the company is still headquartered in Thun, Meyer Burger operates its main production site in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, where Meyer Burger acquired a majority stake in Roth & Rau in 2011.
In 2019, Meyer Burger became the largest shareholder in Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-off company from the University of Oxford in the field of perovskite photovoltaics and solar cells. The company has developed new solar cells that extract more energy from sunshine. Meyer Burger will also mass produce their perovskite solar cells on silicon heterojunction tandem cells, under a strategic and exclusive cooperation agreement.
On 1 April 2020, the former Chief Technology Officer, Gunter Erfurt, took over the position of Group CEO. He was previously Managing Director of Meyer Burger Germany Ltd and previously managed the main production site in Hohenstein-Ernstthal.
In June 2020, a change in strategy was announced, which will transform Meyer Burger into a technologically leading manufacturer of solar cells and solar modules. Initially, a production capacity of 400 megawatts per year is to be started at production facilities in Freiberg in Saxony and Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt. By 2022 the capacities are to be expanded to 1.4 gigawatt cell and 0.8 gigawatt module production. In the long term, the production volume of 5 gigawatts per year is targeted. Meyer Burger manufactures the production facilities in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. The plan is to create up to 3,000 jobs.
At an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 10, 2020, the shareholders approved the transformation of the company from a supplier to a module manufacturer and the associated capital increase. In this capital increase, just under 99 percent of the subscription rights were exercised, thus raising 165 million Swiss francs.

Heterojunction & SmartWire Product

On May 11, 2020 Uwe Rau, German physicist and well-known photvoltaic scientist from Forschungszentrum Jülich confirmed in a radio interview in Germany‘s largest federal state North Rhine-Wesphalia that Meyer Burger‘s new technology in photovoltaics can be compared to the technological step from 4G to 5G in mobile technology. In addition, he said that compared to standard modules from China, Meyer Burger's technology enables to generate more electricity using less space.
According to a company investor presentation Meyer Burger Heterojunction Module efficiency reaches similar levels compared to High Efficiency IBC Technology of Sunpower and LG. Also, Meyer Burger Heterojunction/SCWT enables three to ten times higher gross profit margins compared to mono-PERC. This is a result of the much higher ASPs/wp for high efficiency modules with similar performance specifications and the already low production costs of Meyer Burger Heterojunction/SCWT which is nearing levels of Mono-PERC. In addition, Meyer Burger HJT/SmartWire modules not only enable much higher gross profit margins but also compare very favorably on average selling prices compared to HJT competition. Furthermore, Meyer Burger HJT/SCWT offers the lowest possible LCOE, which is key purchase criterion for utility providers. Moreover, HJT has some inherent advantages over PERC: higher efficiency with more power per m2, higher energy yield due to better temperature coefficient etc., less degradation over lifetime.
Meyer Burger also states that while large scale manufacturers achieved significant efficiency gains by implementing mono PERC and could decrease ASP advantage of existing HJT producers to only ~2 cts/Wp over time HJT could not reap the benefits of large scale manufacturing so far. But the company adds that Meyer Burger’s proprietary HJT/SmartWire offers substantial additional advantages even versus HJT competition, e.g.
Therefore, an average selling price premium of up to 12 cts/Wp for same LCOE of HJT/SmartWire vs PERC modules is estimated by Meyer Burger.

Corporate structure

In 2010 Meyer Burger merged with the previously independent company 3S Industries. The former competence centres of 3S Industries were and are since then business divisions of Meyer Burger.

Meyer Burger (Germany) GmbH

was renamed Meyer Burger in 2014. The company develops and produces various systems and machines for surface treatment in the photovoltaic industry and played a key role in the industrialization of the so-called PERC technology, which represents the current standard in solar cell production. The company also develops and builds mass production systems for the manufacture of highly efficient solar cells using heterojunction technology.

Pasan SA

In the course of the merger with 3S Industries, Pasan became part of Meyer Burger in 2010. The company focuses on the development and manufacture of test and measurement systems for solar cells and modules. These include solar simulators, which are used by leading international certification bodies and numerous cell and module manufacturers thanks to their high accuracy and reliability. The company is headquartered in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Muegge GmbH

As part of the takeover of Roth & Rau AG in 2011, Muegge GmbH in Reichelsheim, which had belonged to the Roth & Rau Group since 2008, also became part of the Meyer Burger Group. Muegge is one of the world's leading suppliers of industrial microwaves and plasma systems. Its portfolio includes microwave generators and components as well as plasma systems for a wide variety of applications in various industries such as the semiconductor industry, OLED and MEMS production and medical technology.

Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd.

In 2019, Meyer Burger became the largest shareholder in Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-off company from the University of Oxford in the field of perovskite  photovoltaics and solar cells. The company has developed new solar cells that extract more energy from sunshine. Meyer Burger will also mass produce perovskite solar cells on silicon heterojunction tandem cells as part of a strategic and exclusive cooperation agreement.

Former divisions

Meyer Burger AG (MB Wafertec)

With the development and production of cutting and sawing systems for the solar industry, Meyer Burger's rapid growth began in 2000. The diamond wire cutting technology used today in the PV industry was primarily developed by Meyer Burger and industrialized for mass production. The entire "Sawing and Cutting Technology" division was sold to Precision Surfacing Solutions at the end of April 2019 for CHF 50 million.

3S Solar Plus AG

The company 3S Industries with the divisions 3S Modultec and 3S Photovoltaics among others merged with Meyer Burger in 2010 and was initially continued as the 3S Photovoltaics division. Subsequently, the two brands 3S Modultec and Solar Building Technologies were created. This division developed and produced building-integrated solar systems. The frameless solar modules of the MegaSlate brand contain solar cells between two glass layers. As a result, the modules have the same properties as laminated safety glass and can be used directly as a building housing, replacing roofing with roof tiles.
The division was later integrated into the "Energy Systems" business unit of Meyer Burger and in 2018 outsourced to the separate company 3S Solar Plus AG and sold.

AIS Automation Dresden GmbH

Until 2019, AIS Automation Dresden GmbH also belonged to the Meyer Burger Group. As a system and software company, AIS has been developing software solutions in the field of automation technology and information technology since 1990. It acts as a full service provider from the conception to the realization and installation of the system on site. The business areas include plant and system controls, factory automation, system integration and railway technology.
At the end of 2019, the system was sold to S&T AG in Linz.

Meyer Burger (Netherlands) B.V.

As part of the takeover of Roth & Rau AG in 2011, Roth & Rau Netherlands B.V. in Eindhoven, which had belonged to the Roth & Rau Group since 2010, also became part of the Meyer Burger Group. They develop and build systems for industrial inkjet printing under the PiXDRO brand. The system size ranges from compact printers for the research sector to mass production systems for various applications and industries.
Meyer Burger B.V. was sold in December 2019.

Awards & achievements

On May 6, 2020, Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt suggested to think about constructing a gigantic solar park in the Hambach open-pit coal mine in North Rhine-Westphalia.This would generate electricity with a capacity of around ten gigawatts, which would roughly correspond to the capacity of the Weisweiler, Neurath, Niederaussem and Frimmersdorf coal-fired power plants, which are currently dependent on the open-pit mines. Considerations for a later use of the gigantic area with an area of 50 square kilometres include flooding to form a lake landscape. According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt, it would be conceivable to cover Lake Hambach with solar modules. Up to 50 million solar modules with a capacity of 10 gigawatts could be installed as a floating solar park, as has already been realised in other parts of the world.
According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt the construction of a state-of-the-art plant for cell and module production in Germany is currently being evaluated.
German physicist Uwe Rau confirmed that such a project is feasible and that a major advantage of the Hambach open-pit coal mine is that power transmission lines are already in place and can be used because of the power plants.
RWE Power AG announced in May 2020 that photovoltaic projects for the Sophienhöhe are conceivable.
Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitisation and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, also expressed his support for the project.