Bosch Solar Energy
| Bosch Solar Energy AG
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | March 12, 1997 |
| resolution | May 31, 2016 |
| Reason for dissolution | Bosch withdraws from the loss-making production of solar technology |
| Seat | Arnstadt , Germany |
| management |
|
| Number of employees | around 3,300 (February 2013) |
| sales | EUR 439 million (2012) |
| Branch | Photovoltaics |
| Website | www.bosch-solarenergy.de |
The Bosch Solar Energy AG (formerly ErSol Solar Energy Aktiengesellschaft ) was a company that predominantly silicon-based photovoltaic products, in particular solar cells produced and crystalline solar modules and is based in Arnstadt had.
history
The company was founded on March 12, 1997 as ErSol Solarstrom GmbH & Co. KG . The first production line was a production line for multicrystalline silicon solar cells in the format 100 mm × 100 mm.
In 2001 the company was converted into a stock corporation with Claus Beneking as CEO and since then has operated as ersol Solar Energy AG. As part of a capital increase after the IPO in 2005, the Ventizz Capital Fund II became the majority shareholder. The ersol Group expanded with the acquisition of the ingot and wafer producer ASi Industries GmbH in Arnstadt . The company's turnover grew to 64 million euros and the operating profit to 9.5 million euros.
In February 2006 ersol acquired the Californian silicon recycler Silicon Recycling Services Inc. (SRS). The groundbreaking ceremony for the thin film factory (ersol Thin Film GmbH) then took place in July 2006. A second solar cell factory in Arnstadt was started later and inaugurated in November 2007. In order to finance the expansion, ersol signed a syndicated loan agreement for 157 million euros under the leadership of Deutsche Bank in October 2006 .
At the turn of 2006/2007 there were changes in the board structure. At the 22nd European Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition (PVSEC) in Milan , ersol presented in the year of the company's 10th anniversary together with its project partners Crystal Growing Systems GmbH (CGS), SolarZentrum Erfurt, Roth & Rau AG and Day4 Energy Inc. a solar panel based on 16 monocrystalline SuperSize solar cells. As of December 31, 2007, the group had more than 800 employees.
On June 2, 2008, Bosch announced that it would take over 50.45 percent of "ersol Solar Energy AG" in order to expand its business in the field of renewable energies. At the same time, Bosch made a voluntary takeover offer to the outstanding shareholders. On August 12, 2008, the takeover was completed with the approval of all the relevant antitrust authorities.
By resolution of the Annual General Meeting on July 23, 2009, all minority shareholders' shares were transferred to “Robert Bosch GmbH” as part of a squeeze-out . On September 1, 2009, “ersol energy AG” was renamed “Bosch Solar Energy AG”.
After almost two years of construction, the company opened its new competence center in Arnstadt in the summer of 2011 with new module production, headquarters, research center and training center. Since January 2012, Arnstadt has also been the official headquarters of Bosch Solar Energy. In spring 2012, after an eight-month renovation period , a production facility for crystalline solar modules was also built at the former Bosch site for diesel injection pumps in Vénissieux , near Lyon . In December 2012, Bosch Solar Energy closed the location in Erfurt. With this, Solar Energy said goodbye to µm-Si thin-film technology and focused more on crystalline module technology and the CIS thin-film.
On March 22, 2013, Bosch announced that it was withdrawing from solar technology and closing all locations in this area. The production of ingots, wafers, cells and modules will be discontinued until the beginning of 2014 and the individual areas will be sold as soon as possible. Thuringia is particularly affected by the move: Bosch Solar Energy AG has around 1,800 employees at its headquarters in Arnstadt . In total, around 3,000 people work in Bosch's solar division, primarily in Germany and France .
At the end of 2013 it was announced that the Bosch Solar production facilities in Arnstadt would be taken over by the Bonn-based solar group Solarworld . Solarworld receives a dowry of 130 million euros from Bosch for taking over the employees and maintaining the production facility.
On May 31, 2016, Bosch Solar Energy AG was deleted from the commercial register. The company was transformed into "Bosch Solar Services GmbH" with its headquarters in Arnstadt, a service company for services related to solar products, which however no longer operates any production facilities itself.
share
The company went public on September 30, 2005 . The share was listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange , was represented in the TecDax since December 19, 2005 and in the ÖkoDAX from June 4, 2007 . The share was removed from the TecDAX and the ÖkoDAX on September 22, 2008. With effect from September 8, 2009 the listing of the shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was discontinued.
Structure and products
Bosch Solar Energy was an integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products:
- At the company headquarters in Arnstadt, the company manufactured monocrystalline ingots , wafers , solar cells and crystalline solar modules. Monocrystalline ingots were produced using a drawing process - the so-called CZ method . Then thin “slices” - the wafers - were sawn from them. Their thickness was freely selectable from 160 µm. ersol Wafers (until 2009) was one of the first production facilities outside the USA to process the cutting fluid (“ slurry ”) in-house.
- The core business area was the production of solar cells in the format 156 mm × 156 mm as well as the production of crystalline solar modules. With a cell thickness of around 200 µm, the efficiency of the monocrystalline solar cells reached up to 18.4 percent. Production was carried out by the parent company Bosch Solar Energy AG in Arnstadt.
- Based on the monocrystalline solar cells, the company produced crystalline solar modules with 48 or 60 cells. Module production was integrated into the overall complex at the Arnstadt site.
- The distribution of large-scale solar projects was established as an essential new business area from 2009. The company took over the construction of solar parks from the planning to the turnkey handover.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bosch boss indicates possible downsizing
- ↑ http://de.reuters.com/article/deEuroRpt/idDELN59999220090324/
- ↑ Arnstadt is the new solar center from Bosch ( Memento from May 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ sonnewindwaerme.de: Bosch starts new competence center for photovoltaics in Arnstadt.
- ↑ Loss business: Bosch is getting out of solar business , FAZ.NET , March 22, 2013
- ↑ handelsblatt.com: Bosch supervisory board chairman Fehrenbach: Farewell to Bosch solar division is painful
- ↑ Thüringer Allgemeine: Exit from the solar business costs Bosch 130 million euros , January 17, 2014.
- ↑ online-handelsregister.de: [1] , accessed on March 22, 2017
- ↑ High performance - stable yields. Bosch Solar Cell M 3BB ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 249 kB)
