International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said Monday that it is joining with Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. to set up new, low-cost methods to market the next generation of solar energy products. The companies have greed to jointly develop processes, materials, and equipment suitable for the production of Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide or CIGS solar cell modules.
IBM Research has developed new, non-vacuum, solution-based manufacturing processes for CIGS solar cells and is targeting efficiencies around 15% and higher. Current thin-film product efficiencies vary from around 6% to less than 12%.
Merging IBM's technology with the coating technique and high purity chemicals of Tokyo Ohka has the potential to bring the large-scale production of thin-film solar cells to market, IBM noted.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.