HelioVolt Plans Its First Thin Film Solar Factory in Austin, Texas

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HelioVolt Corporation, a producer of highly-efficient thin film solar energy products, today announced plans to locate its initial manufacturing facility in the Expo Business Park in Austin, Texas. This news closely follows the company’s recognition as one of the top private technology companies in the world as a recipient of the Red Herring 100 Global award. HelioVolt’s first factory will have an initial production capacity of 20 megawatts (MW) with the ability to expand as the company increases production in the U.S. and abroad. Currently headquartered in Austin, HelioVolt expects the new factory to create more than 150 additional jobs in the region.

“With cities around the country vying to host the company’s first production facility, we are proud that HelioVolt has chosen its own hometown as a base for continued growth.”

Employing HelioVolt’s proprietary FASST™ manufacturing process at commercial scale, the factory will begin production of high quality copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar products in 2008. Construction of the facility will be financed by the company’s Series B funding round, which recently closed at $101 million making it the largest solar technology venture capital round to date. The company is continuing to work with local officials to make the factory a success.

“As the renewable energy industry continues to look with interest to CIGS and other thin film materials as a route to advanced solar products, we at HelioVolt have been diligently working to ensure that our production process is the most cost-effective and reliable in the market. Needless to say, we are delighted to be entering the next stage of growth with our first factory,” said HelioVolt CEO and founder Dr. B.J. Stanbery.

“A clear clean technology leader right here in our backyard, HelioVolt has already proven itself something of an Austin hero to this community that prides itself in its commitment to both clean energy and technological innovation,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “With cities around the country vying to host the company’s first production facility, we are proud that HelioVolt has chosen its own hometown as a base for continued growth.”

As HelioVolt continues to grow, Red Herring has recognized the company for its innovation, management and global strategy. Chosen out of a pool of 1800 eligible promising companies as one of the top 100, HelioVolt was honored at the Red Herring Global event this month in Seattle, WA.

About HelioVolt

HelioVolt Corporation was founded in 2001 in order to develop and market new technology for applying thin film photovoltaic coatings to a variety of substrates including conventional construction materials. The company’s proprietary FASST™ process, based on rapid semiconductor printing, was invented by HelioVolt founder Dr. Billy J. Stanbery, an eminent expert within the international PV community in the materials science of CIGS and related compound semiconductors. FASST™ is a low-cost, flexible manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis and is protected by both nine issued US patents and by numerous global patents pending. For additional information, visit www.heliovolt.com.