5N Plus Inc., St. Laurent, Quebec, a producer and provider of high-purity metals, compounds and wafers for electronic applications, has signed a new recycling agreement and three new supply agreements with First Solar Inc., Tempe, Ariz., a company involved in solar photovoltaic technology. The agreements replace the original recycling and supply agreements between 5N Plus and First Solar, as amended.
Under the new agreements, First Solar has agreed to increase the minimum prescribed quantities of cadmium telluride that it will order from 5N Plus to 30 percent and to 60 percent by 2013 relative to the minimum quantities prescribed in the original agreements between the companies.
5N Plus also has announced plans to build a new recycling plant in Malaysia in an effort to position itself to meet growing customer demand. The Malaysian plant, which the company expects to be operational by the middle of 2012, is intended to expand 5N Plus' recycling presence in Asia and to provide recycling services for various solar cell manufacturing by-products, including those produced by First Solar.
"We are very pleased to have extended our relationship with First Solar, the world's leading thin-film solar module manufacturer," says Jacques L'Écuyer, president and CEO of 5N Plus. "Our new agreements with First Solar will provide us with a solid and predictable revenue stream for the next five years and allow us to enhance our presence in the rapidly growing Asian market."