The consolidation of the global solar panel industry stepped up a gear yesterday as leading US manufacturer Applied Materials announced it is to shell out €225m in cash to acquire Italian solar cell outfit Baccini.

Applied Materials president and chief executive Mike Splinter said the deal, which is expected to close early next year, subject to regulatory approval, would accelerate the company's attempts to bring down the cost of solar power and bolster its presence in an Italian market with "strong geographic potential " for realising cost parity with grid supplied energy.

He added that post-acquisition, the company would look to integrate Baccini's material handling automation technology for use with ultra-thin silicon wafers into its own manufacturing processes. The company said that with silicon now accounting for over 60 per cent of solar cell manufacturing costs, Baccini's ability to develop wafers less than 120 micrometres thick would result in a significant cost reduction.

The deal is the latest step in Applied Materials' plan to improve the cost competitiveness of solar power and follows the September acquisition of silicon wafer manufacturing specialist HCT Shaping Systems.

Meanwhile, downstream consolidation of the solar market is also gathering pace, with US solar manufacturer and distributor SunWize Technologies last week announcing it is to acquire Californian solar installation company GenSelf for an undisclosed sum.

SunWize, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co, said the deal, which it expects to close within a few weeks, would allow the company to add GenSelf's sales and installation to its existing manufacturing and distribution capabilities.