August 15, 2008 Concentrix Solar GmbH High-efficiency…

August 15, 2008




Concentrix Solar GmbH         High-efficiency FLATCON® technology enters
Emmy-Noether-Str. 2
79110 Freiburg
                              industrial-scale production
Germany                       Concentrix Solar brings 25 MW production line
www.concentrix-solar.de
                              into operation and presents new improved
Contact:                      systems at EU PVSEC in Valencia
Silke Hajunga
Public Relations              In September 2008, Concentrix Solar and its workforce move to new
                              premises in Freiburg. The new factory in the `Auf der Haid' business park
Phone: +49-761-214108-24      will begin industrial-scale production of improved Concentrix Solar
Fax: +49-761-214108-29        concentrator photovoltaic modules the same month. The new generation
hajunga@concentrix-solar.de   of modules was the deciding factor in securing the record 23% AC system
                              efficiency measured since May 2008 in full operating conditions on a trial
                              system in Seville, Spain. Concentrix Solar has recently gone on to deploy
                              the new improved modules at two further power plants in Spain.

                              The relocation was made necessary by the company's rapid growth and the
                              commencement of industrial-scale manufacture for the FLATCON®
                              technology. Concentrix Solar has fitted out the new factory with a fully-
                              automated 25 MW production line for its high-efficiency concentrator
                              modules. With 4,000 square metres of production and service space, the
                              infrastructure is already in place to step up production to 50 MW.

                              "We will be producing at a very high automation level with a smaller but
                              even better-trained workforce. This means we can maintain our high
                              quality standards and guarantee high efficiency and a long service life for
                              our systems", says COO Karl Friedrich Haarburger. Concentrix Solar
                              equips its production lines with tried-and-tested volume manufacturing
                              machinery for electronics, printed circuits and insulating glass. The high
                              efficiency rates and the refinements applied to the technology in readiness
                              for volume manufacture are in no small part a result of experience
                              Concentrix Solar has accumulated in two years of pilot production. CTO
                              Dr. Andreas Gombert is optimistic regarding further quality gains: "We
                              work constantly with our R&D department and our local cluster of R&D
                              partners to improve product design, production quality and efficiency, and
                              on further reductions in cost."
After successfully taking the FLATCON® technology into volume
production, Concentrix Solar's focus is now on expanding sales and
marketing. As part of these efforts, the company will present its improved
FLATCON® systems in early September at EU PVSEC 2008, the European
photovoltaics fair in Valencia. CEO Hansjörg Lerchenmüller is pleased that
the new production facility is going on line at the same time: "It means we
can at last meet the strong demand for our systems." Concentrator
photovoltaics is gaining in importance, not least with the growth of major
photovoltaics markets in sunny countries. "High-efficiency concentrator
photovoltaic systems will play a key role in the sunbelt because high
efficiencies are a key to lowering costs", says Lerchenmüller. "We are
certainly well prepared for the future and can now additionally take on large
power plant projects in the 1 to 10 MW range." Concentrix Solar will be
presenting its power plant technology at the European Photovoltaic Solar
Energy Conference and Exhibition, Hall 3, Stand C 30a, in Valencia from
1 to 4 September 2008.




Available soon in industrial quantities: Concentrix Solar power plants with
improved FLATCON® technology.
About Concentrix Solar
Concentrix Solar GmbH was launched in February 2005 as a spin-off from
the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). Concentrix Solar
produces concentrator power plants for sunny locations. Fresnel lenses
concentrate the sunlight by a factor of 500 and focus it on small high-
efficiency solar cells. These convert the concentrated light energy directly
into electrical energy. Concentrix Solar won the Innovation Award of
German Industry 2007 in the `Startup' category for successful
implementation of its innovative technology.

To date, Concentrix Solar has manufactured concentrator modules at its
Freiburg operating location on an automated pilot production line with
1 MW nominal capacity. In September, Concentrix Solar will take a 25 MW
line into operation, heralding the start of commercial volume production
for this new photovoltaic technology.