Sharp will build a new LCD panel plant and solar cell plant for the mass production of thin-film solar cells in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture.

This project is being developed as a “manufacturing complex for the 21st century” that will incorporate relevant infrastructure and facilities, as well as attract material and production equipment manufacturers to construct plants on the same site.

In addition to infrastructure-related facilities and production equipment manufacturers, a number of material manufacturers such as glass substrate and color filter makers will be invited to set up plants adjacent to Sharp’s new LCD panel plant within this manufacturing complex.

The aim is to achieve vertical integration that transcends the barriers between companies by pushing the vertically integrated business model created at the Kameyama Plant - from LCD panels to LCD TVs - further upstream in the supply chain. This will reduce distribution costs and unify operations, including production planning.

TFT LCDs and thin-film solar cells are based on the same thin-film technologies, and can share materials and utilities. The application of LCD technologies to thin-film solar cells can be expected to yield even greater improvements in performance.

The LCD panel plant will be the first in the world to use 10th-generation glass substrates, the world’s largest size (2,850 mm x 3,050 mm), 60% larger than the 8th-generation substrates used at Kameyama Plant No. 2. This 10th-generation glass substrate will yield six LCD panels in the 60-inch class, eight panels in the 50-inch class, or 15 panels in the 40-inch class, making it possible to fabricate LCD panels for large-screen TVs with extremely high levels of efficiency. The input capacity will be 72,000 substrates per month (initial capacity at start of operations: 36,000 substrates per month).

The site area will be 1.27 million m2. The company will invest approx. 380 billion yen (including land acquisition costs). Construction is slated to start in November of this year, with production operations scheduled to start by March 2010.

The solar cell plant will focus on mass production of thin-film solar cells. Plans call for a production volume of around 1,000 MW per year for the thin-film solar cells to be manufactured at this facility. This level is expected to maximize economies of scale, and make this factory the largest solar cell plant in the world. Operations are slated to begin at same time as the LCD panel plant.