Air Liquide and Sixtron Advanced Materials have reached a deal to partner on the development, promotion and distribution of advanced coating materials for crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell manufacturers.

Air Liquide said that the Silexium technology will enable crystalline solar panel producers to improve the performance of their solar cells efficiency and reduce cost per watt without significant up-front capital investment.The agreement will leverage Air Liquide’s leading position in the photovoltaic industry supply chain.

The exclusive agreement will allow Air Liquide to complement its existing ALOHA range of advanced precursor materials and propose a new valueadding gas solution to its c-Si photovoltaic customers worldwide.

“This global partnership with Sixtron demonstrates Air Liquide strategic interest to provide its photovoltaic customers with the safest, most advanced and lowest cost-of-ownership Gases & Precursors solutions in the market. The photovoltaic market is at the crossroads of Energy and the Environment, two growth drivers of the Air Liquide group," said Francisco Martins, vice president of world business line electronics for the Air Liquide Group.

Sixtron's Silexium process solution combines proprietary precursor molecules with the SunBox gas generation system to deposit new solar cell films.