ntrosolar Group AG, a German maker of solar cells, to jointly build, equip and operate a solar cell manufacturing plant. The venture will make an initial investment of 70 million euros (US$108 million) by September 2009 and will be located on an existing Qimonda site in Vila do Conde, Portugal, the Munich-based company said in a statement on its Web site Monday. Qimonda will hold 51 percent in the venture.
The move comes as Qimonda is suffering from slumping memory-chip prices because of excess supply. The company said April 21 it had a net loss of 482 million euros in the quarter through March, compared with a profit of 57 million euros a year earlier, after revenue dropped 58 percent to 412 million euros.
"By entering the solar industry, we are addressing an attractive market with stable and high growth rates," Chief Executive Officer Kin Wah Loh said in the statement. "We will leverage our core competencies in silicon-based, high-quality mass production to generate a new revenue stream for Qimonda."
