MUNICH, Germany — Embattled solar cell manufacturer Q-Cells SE has terminated a contract with Chinese wafer supplier LDK Solar. Q-Cells accused its former business partner of unspecified contract violations.
According to Q-Cells (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany), the companies in December 2007 signed a contract which provided for the supply of 43.000 metric tons of silicon between 2009 through 2019. For 2009, Q-Cells expected the supply of 1.000 tons of silicon. This contract has now been terminated, Q-Cells said in a statement.
Based on the contract, Q-Cells made an advanced payment of $244.5 million in 2008. With termination of the contract, Q-Cells claimed it has the right to recall the amount.
However, the companies have differing interpretations of contract provisions, and negotiations were eventually broken off. An arbitration process at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris also failed to resolve the contract dispute.
Q-Cells and LDK Solar (Xinyu City, China) recently announced the launch of a joint venture to develop large photovoltaics systems. The fate of the JV against the background of the current quarrel is uncertain.
Neither company was available for comment.
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