BREAKTHROUGH WAFER MAKER FUNDED

1366 Offered $150 Million Conditional Commitment for DOE Loan Guarantee
June 17, 2011 (1366 Technologies)

"…[T]he U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered a conditional commitment to [1366 Technologies] for a $150 million loan guarantee. 1366 will use the DOE funds to scale its Direct Wafer manufacturing capabilities in Massachusetts and build a second U.S. manufacturing facility that will produce the basic building block of solar cells – silicon wafers – at a fraction of today’s cost."

[Frank van Mierlo, 1366 Technologies:] “With this loan, 1366 will realize its goal to make solar energy as cheap as coal while helping the U.S. to reclaim a key part of the silicon supply chain and restore the nation’s dominance in photovoltaics.”

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"The loan will play a critical role in the company’s expansion – creating two facilities and hundreds of jobs. The first commercial facility, located in the company’s home state of Massachusetts, is scheduled to be fully operational by 2013 and will produce 20 megawatts per year of capacity, employ 100 people and further New England’s role as a clean energy center. Construction on a second, larger, 1,000 megawatt facility is scheduled to commence in 2013 and create 300 permanent positions. The location of the second U.S. facility has not been decided.

"Since its founding in 2008, 1366 Technologies has raised $46 million from equity investors which has helped the company bring its transformative Direct Wafer technology into production. Direct Wafer technology forms a 156mm multi-crystalline wafer directly from molten silicon…[S]tandard wafer manufacturing…involves a multi-step, batch process of ingot casting, blocking, squaring, and sawing that wastes up to 50% of the high-value silicon…"

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"…Direct Wafer integrates into the existing silicon photovoltaics’ supply chain, providing cost savings to cell customers without added complexity.

"In October 2009, 1366 received a $4 million grant from the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) to support the development of the Direct Wafer technology…"