The first-ever collaborative project between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to create solar cells for power generation will come to an end this year after a subsidiary of DuPont, DuPont Apollo, said it was stopping production of silicon thin-film modules, which are used in solar cells. The move dealt a blow to cross-border efforts to establish the region as a hub for the research, development and production of solar power technology. The partnership, called the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle, sought to create research and development (R&D) facilities in Hong Kong for the technology that would be manufactured in Shenzhen. It was established in 2008 at the invitation of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments as part of the central government’s 11th Five Year Plan. DuPont Apollo had aspired to become one of the world’s top three providers of thin-film photovoltaic modules by next year. Its versatile thin-film products were cheaper to produce as it uses much less silicon than rival crystalline panels. In 2009, it still expected the photovoltaic market to grow exponentially. But a year later, an oversupply of silicon lowered the prices of rival modules, making the technology less competitive. DuPont Apollo ran the project’s production facilities in Shenzhen and an R&D center at the Hong Kong Science Park in Tai Po. DuPont Apollo Chairman Chuck Xu cited a flagging market for the decision to pull the plug on the project. DuPont Apollo would hand back the research and development facility, opened in 2009, to the Science Park when the lease expired in August. The production facility in Shenzhen, which came into full operation in 2010, will be suspended, the South China Morning Post reports.