1366 Technologies and IHI Corporation Mark Completion of First Commercial Solar Installation to Feature Direct Wafer® Products

BEDFORD, Mass. & TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#directwafer–Silicon wafer manufacturer 1366
Technologies today announced that Japan’s IHI Corporation, through
its wholly-owned subsidiary IHI Plant Construction Co., Ltd (IPC), has
completed the grid connection and begun commercial operation of a 500 kW
solar installation featuring 1366’s high performance wafers. During its
lifespan, the array is expected to displace approximately 9,500 metric
tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. 1366 and IHI
celebrated the completion of the system this week at a ceremony in Tokyo.

“This commercial installation delivers all of the expected benefits
specific to solar power and then some, the energy payback of an
installation featuring Direct Wafer products is accelerated to less than
a year due to the fact that our technology uses just one-third the
energy,” said Frank van Mierlo, CEO, 1366 Technologies. “IHI has a long
history of identifying and adopting groundbreaking technologies, we’re
proud the Direct Wafer process is part of that story.”

The array, located in the Japanese prefecture Hyōgo and consisting of
IEC-certified modules fabricated by a Tier 1 manufacturer in China,
includes more than 120,000 wafers made with 1366’s revolutionary Direct
Wafer® process. All the wafers were produced at 1366’s demonstration
facility, using the Company’s production-ready Direct Wafer furnaces.

This installation builds on the success at test sites in the United
States, Germany and Japan and demonstrates the Company’s ability to run
the Direct Wafer process at scale. It also underscores the broad appeal
of the technology downstream where customers want advanced, high-quality
systems with lower carbon footprints.

“It has been our goal to expand our portfolio of renewable energy
systems with innovative technologies that dramatically reduce cost and
deliver superior performance of photovoltaic systems. This installation
achieves that goal,” said Mr. Otani, IHI Corporation.

1366 Technologies’ Direct Wafer® Technology
1366
Technologies’ Direct Wafer® process forms multicrystalline wafers
directly from molten silicon instead of today’s multi-step, energy- and
capital-intensive process. The result is a uniformly better wafer,
created at one-half the cost. The technology also has the enormous
benefit of being a “drop-in” replacement for the majority of the
photovoltaics market, making it seamless for cell and panel
manufacturers to readily adopt the technology without adding a single
new piece of equipment.

ABOUT 1366 TECHNOLOGIES
1366
Technologies aims to deliver solar at a cost cheaper than coal. The
company combines breakthrough technology innovations with lean
manufacturing processes to make a new class of silicon wafers, the
building blocks of solar cells, at a fraction of today’s cost. Developed
by a veteran team of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, the
company’s novel approach breaks the historic efficiency and cost
tradeoffs of photovoltaics. 1366 Technologies is headquartered in
Bedford, MA. For more information, please visit www.1366tech.com.

Contacts

1366 Technologies
Laureen Sanderson, 781-861-1611 x2204
[email protected]