Isofoton

Founded in 1981 Isofoton was a Spanish leading manufacturer of photovoltaic cells and modules that had its HQ in Málaga and a distribution network present in over 60 countries. It started as a spin-off of the pioneering research programme of the Institute of Solar Energy of the Technical University of Madrid in the field of silicon bifacial solar cells, today a mainstream solar cell technology. In fact, it was the very first factory in the world to mass produce, market and install this type of solar cell technology. By 1987 it abandoned manufacturing of bifacials and transitioned to conventional monofacial solar cells, still, it forged ahead successfully and from 2000 to 2005 it ranked among the top 10 PV manufacturers in the world. At its peak, by 2007, Isofoton employed 1142 people, produced 103MW and had an annual turnover of 414 million euros. In 2014 it filed for bankruptcy, as happened with almost all of the European and US PV manufacturers operating at the time, mainly due to the price pressure of a new wave of Chinese manufacturers.

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