ECD Receives $6 Million DOE Contract
29 June 1998
ECD Receives $6 Million DOE Contract to Further Advance Its PV Manufacturing Technology
TROY, Mich., June 29 -- Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD)
announced today that it has been awarded a new cost-sharing
contract by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) to further advance its proprietary roll-to-roll photovoltaic
(PV) manufacturing technology. United Solar Systems Corp., ECD's U.S. based
PV manufacturing joint venture with Canon, Inc., and Science Applications
International Corp. will work with ECD in fulfillment of the contract.
ECD agreed to commence work on this contract with NREL based upon an
executed Letter Sub-Contract. Execution of final documentation for the three-
year, approximately $6 million contract is contemplated to be completed within
six months. ECD will receive about $3 million. The award is part of an
ongoing DOE PV Manufacturing Technology (PVMAT) program designed to enhance
U.S. leadership in the world PV market through improved PV module
manufacturing processes and reduced manufacturing costs.
In addition to the PVMAT program, DOE/NREL has assisted ECD and United
Solar in the development of their solar cell devices through the Thin-Film
Partnership program, which has enabled ECD/United Solar to achieve all the
essential world records for amorphous silicon based solar cell conversion
efficiency. The achievement of 10% large area stable efficiency was termed a
"breakthrough" by DOE. Under the DOE/NREL PV Building Opportunities in the
U.S. (PV:BONUS) program, ECD/United Solar developed their award winning
building integrated PV metal roofing and solar shingle products. These
products were singled out by President Clinton, who declared they would "make
a huge difference in what we have to do" in the nation's efforts to reduce
greenhouse gases.
Under the contract, ECD and the other team members will implement
improvements in ECD's roll-to-roll thin-film deposition processes and hardware
that will further increase stable module efficiency, increase production
throughput, reduce manufacturing costs, and pave the way for expanded
production by United Solar. These improvements include the development and
implementation of in-line thin-film sensors to increase the module quality and
yield, development of a new backreflector layer fabrication process which
utilizes low cost targets, and development of new internal hardware for the
thin-film semiconductor growth which will improve thin-film uniformity as well
as thin-film quality. These developments will later be implemented into
United Solar's solar module production line, which was built by ECD, and ECD's
future solar module manufacturing equipment. This is the second contract that
ECD has received under the PVMAT program.
"Our PV technology generally and our roll-to-roll production process in
particular were designed to make solar electricity cost competitive with
conventional fuels at suitable volume production levels," said Stanford R.
Ovshinsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of ECD and United Solar.
"The DOE PVMAT program has been very instrumental in helping us to
continuously refine our production technology as we continue to increase our
manufacturing capacity. This new contract is another important step in
reaching our goal."
All technology developed under the program will be made available to
United Solar, which utilizes PV manufacturing technology and production
equipment designed, developed and built by ECD. United Solar currently
operates a 5 megawatt multi-junction, roll-to-roll production line in Troy, MI
built by ECD.
ECD is a leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of
advanced production technology and innovative products. ECD has pioneered the
development of products and production technology based on amorphous and
disordered and related materials with an emphasis on alternative energy and
advanced information technologies. ECD's web site is http://ovonic.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
which are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected.
These forward-looking statements concern, among other things, ECD's
expectations, plans and strategies for the development and commercialization
of products based on its technologies and are generally identified by the use
of such terms as "intends," "expects," "plans," "projects," "estimates,"
"anticipates," "should" and "believes." All of such forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions which ECD, as the date of this release,
believes to be reasonable and appropriate. ECD cautions, however, that the
actual facts and conditions that may exist in the future could vary materially
from the assumed facts and conditions upon which such forward-looking
statements are based.