In manufacturing, viability hinges on production yield. In energy devices, viability hinges on conversion efficiency.   Less is less   The notion that higher conversion efficiency is better than lower efficiency is intuitive. With higher efficiency, more is produced from the same resource. Higher efficiency does have higher inherent value. What is often counter-intuitive, however, is that low-price scenarios can produce dramatic...

On July 21, AMAT announced that it would ‘restructure’ its SunFab business.  Last week’s Part 1 of Sunset for AMAT’s SunFab considered the broader industry context in counterpoint to the official reasons provided for the closing of the SunFab business.   AMAT blamed competitive pressures from crystalline silicon, government policy uncertainty, capital availability constraints and the speed of utility-scale adoption. What...

Part 1: Correcting the Context Last week, AMAT announced that it would ‘restructure’ its SunFab business. Official reasons for closing the product line provided by AMAT Chairman and CEO Mike Splinter included “competitive pressures from crystalline silicon… (that) did not allow the market to take off.” Splinter also pointed a finger at government policy uncertainty, capital availability and utility-scale adoption. Even though I...