07-28-2008

SCHOTT Solar extends its successful OEM strategy even further

• ICP Solar Canada, Premier Solar India and the Finnish manufacturer of mobile accessoires Iqua added to the well-known list of customers
• OEM thin-film cells from SCHOTT Solar are powerful lightweights in a variety of designs

Alzenau, July 29 – The number of solar product manufacturers that make use of the thin-film technology from SCHOTT Solar in their products continues to grow. As an OEM partner, SCHOTT Solar is currently signing contracts to deliver its products with leading companies all over the world and, thus, strengthening its market position even further. Only recently, the company reached agreements on long-term partnerships with the Finnish manufacturer of mobile accessoires, Iqua, as well as with ICP Solar Canada and Premier Solar in India. The high quality and flexibility of the cells were said to be the main reasons why these companies decided in favor of the raw modules from SCHOTT Solar. They are extremely thin and light, yet feature high power density and can be cut into essentially any shape. Depending on the application, these cells can be combined in a flexible manner so that they ultimately generate different voltages and currents. This means they fulfill all of the prerequisites for both indoor and outdoor use, in mobile or stationary solar power plant installations, for example.

The Indian manufacturer Premier Solar Systems uses SCHOTT Solar ASI OEM thin-film cells to operate off-grid water pumps, street lights and room lights, for example. The products from ICP Solar Canada, in turn, provide solar power inside mobile homes, on boats, in remotely located houses and in farming. Thanks to this partnership, the Canadian manufacturer is capable of producing substantially lighter, more durable solar power devices than ever before that even provide 25 percent higher output. The Finnish company Iqua uses OEM cells from SCHOTT Solar to manufacture the world’s very first solar-driven headsets and hands-free car kits for the consumer market. Gardena, the gardening tool manufacturer based in Ulm, Germany, is also a SCHOTT Solar customer. Among other things, Gardena relies on thin-film cells to operate solar-driven pumps for ponds and watering computers.

SCHOTT Solar plans to engage in long-term supply agreements with international solar product manufacturers. The advantages of the thin-film technology, including flexible and wide-ranging application possibilities, as well as high product quality and performance, predestine these solar cells for use in securing the power supply far from the grid. In this way, SCHOTT Solar gains access to the huge potential that modern solar technology solutions have to offer.

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SCHOTT Solar, with its high quality products, enables the potential of the sun as a nearly inexhaustible source of energy to be utilized. And it’s for exactly that reason that SCHOTT Solar produces important components for photovoltaic applications and solar energy plants. In the photovoltaic industry, the company is one of the few integrated manufacturers of crystalline silicon wafers, cells and modules. The production of the wafers is ensured by the WACKER SCHOTT Solar joint venture, which also secures the supply of silicon, enabling long-term growth. In thin-film technology, SCHOTT Solar also describes itself as an advanced supplier due to having over twenty years of experience. And in the production of receivers for solar power plants, SCHOTT Solar sees itself as a market and technology leader. The receivers are key components in large-scale power plants that generate electricity from solar energy centrally on the basis of parabolic trough technology and are able to supply entire cities with power. SCHOTT Solar has production facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic, the USA and Spain. The innovative power and technological competence of the company date back to the late 1950s. SCHOTT Solar GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the international SCHOTT technology group. SCHOTT develops special materials, components and systems for the household appliance, pharmaceutical, solar energy, electronics, optical and automotive industries. With around 16,700 employees, the SCHOTT Group generated a worldwide turnover of about 2.1 billion euros in fiscal year 2006/2007.

SCHOTT Solar GmbH
Lars Waldmann
Press and Public Relations
tel. +49 (0)6023 - 91 1811
fax +49 (0)6023 - 91 1700
lars.waldmann@schott.com

Fink & Fuchs
Public Relations AG
Christina Rettig
tel. +49 (0)611 - 74131 934
fax +49 (0)611 - 74131 21
christina.rettig@ffpr.de