New Delhi, March 12, 2018

Vikram Solar, one of India's leading module manufacturer and a prominent rooftop solar & EPC solutions provider, has signed a collaboration agreement with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), a key player in research, development and innovation. The agreement was exchanged on Saturday during French President Emmanuel Macron's India visit. A high efficiency heterojunction module manufactured using both organisations' know-how and technological expertise was showcased at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the ISA (International Solar Alliance) Founding ceremony on March 11, 2018.

The association will look to enhance research and developments on high efficiency crystalline silicon cells, modules, systems and a host of high efficiency generation and storage technologies for French and Indian markets.

Under the MoU, CEA will share its know-how and technologies in the field of solar energy, storage, smart grid and thermal efficiency while Vikram Solar will apply these technologies in large volume manufacturing with a wider objective of improving solar photovoltaic cells and modules to perform at record-efficiency in energy conversion and simultaneously developing battery solutions by increasing their energy storage capacity. Other advanced research and development areas of collaboration will include crystallisation and wafering, mono and bi-facial modules, agri-photovoltaics, solar mobility, etc as well as exploring new competitive materials in order to reduce costs.

Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD & CEO, Vikram Solar Limited, stated, "Vikram Solar has always been at the forefront of innovation through research and development that helps India grow and develop and be a more sustainable nation. Our association with CEA will strengthen our focus on newer technology and in turn increase opportunity for both parties to work towards a more sustainable and efficient ecosystem.”

Christophe Gegout, Deputy Chairman of the CEA, commented, "Our association with Vikram Solar comes at a time when the need for renewables is at an all time high in India as well as globally.  This is a perfect time for us to leverage our strength in research and development and fuse it with Vikram Solar's long standing position as a leading global solar module player with key focus on quality, technology and innovation.”

The CEA carries out research on thermal and photovoltaic solar energy, in support of industrial companies in the sector. In the field of solar thermal energy, the CEA has, within the National Institute of Solar Energy (INES), an R&D platform dedicated to the optimisation of solar thermal systems. The CEA also carries out research on the production of electricity using a thermodynamic process known as concentrating solar power technology. In the field of photovoltaics, the CEA's research is focusing on improving the output and reducing the costs of photovoltaic modules, and also anticipating the problems of integration in the grid which will arise following a massive insertion of renewables in the energy mix. This work, carried out at INES, makes use of its technological platform to manufacture cells and modules and its software platform to simulate the behaviour of a future grid with renewable energy sources, as well as storage and consumption equipments.

Vikram Solar Limited is one of the leading solar energy solution providers, specialising in efficient PV module manufacturing and comprehensive EPC solutions. With international presence in 5 continents, the company is an active contributor in shaping the solar revolution across continents. Vikram Solar's annual PV module production capacity stands at 1 GW.