Bosch Solar Energy announced the formal opening of the company's new solar cell production facility in Armstadt, Germany. The facility, once fully completed, will have production capacity of about 10,000 cells an hour, or about 90 million solar cells a year. Bosch Solar Energy is investing a total of EUR 530 million into this location, with the goal to integrate the production process to be able to output all solar products from ingots, to finished and assembled solar modules.

With this new production capacity, the company will almost triple its output to about 630 MW annually. This will be a major increase and a boost for the company's growth strategy, which aims at the expansion of facilities and more involvement in R&D activities.

The new production facility is to be completed in the summer of 2011. By 2012 the company will have invested the EUR 530 million into this location, creating as many as 1100 new jobs.

[source: Bosch Solar Energy]