http://www.nanosolar.com/blog3/?p=181 (quoted below)
If they have reached profitability (ten months only after production started!), then: a/ presumably they really are delivering, in spite of Jones's allegations. What may be true though is that they are not delivering to the US yet. b/ they should make it through the crisis, which is good news Michel ---------------------- Solar and the Credit Crisis October 17, 2008 By Martin Roscheisen, CEO Three years ago, when asked to contribute an op-ed perspective to the solar industry's main trade magazine, I thought it useful to focus it on how poor manufacturing capital efficiency is really a very critical issue facing the solar industry and how this is what Nanosolar is seeking to change using simple printing processes, nanotechnology, and other forms of high-productivity technologies. Then a solar investment boom set in, and, during the past few years, it seemed as if capital is free and the only thing that mattered is rapid production capacity expansion at no matter what capital expenditure. Petrodollars and overvalued public company dollars fueled the construction of factories with readily available but incredibly capital-inefficient manufacturing process technology, that is, production technology that delivers very little product revenue relative to the amount of capital investment necessary for building the factory capacity to produce the revenue-generating product. The most egregious examples of this have been the production tooling capital expenditure (capex) necessary for wafered silicon cells as well as the high-vacuum thin-film cells from companies such as Applied Materials where the revenue to capex ratio is barely 75 cents on the dollar in a realistic pricing environment. This means that at any revenue growth faster than 20% per year, these companies are eternal black holes in terms of cash flow; whatever cash orbits their vicinity disappears in them and is never to be seen again. Of course, this has now begun to change — and rapidly so — through the credit crisis. Going forward, it will matter again whether someone asks a bank or an investor for $100 million or for $1 billion in capital to build a factory with each the same product revenue potential. While already committed capital creates an overhang and presumably will still lead to the completion of a further number of factories based on low-productivity technology, subsequent expansion of such has now become more doubtful. In addition, the smartest system integrators in the industry will already react and question their strategic supply mix and security, which in turn only reinforces the healthy pressure towards more capital efficient and bankable production. At Nanosolar, where we just recently have had our first profitable month (in good part due to frugal cost management), we are looking forward to demonstrating how fast growth and innovation in solar is possible in a sustainable, non-dilutive manner. --------------
