Bedford, MA and Tokyo – May 7, 2013 – Today, solar wafer manufacturer 1366 Technologies and Tokuyama (4043:JP), the leading silicon producer in Japan and the fourth largest producer of silicon in the world, entered into a strategic partnership designed to drive down the cost of photovoltaics.
While the terms of the non-equity partnership were not disclosed, the two companies will combine resources and collaborate on research and development efforts with the aim to accelerate the adoption of 1366’s Direct Wafer technology. 1366’s Direct Wafer is a transformative manufacturing process that produces a uniformly better silicon wafer at half the cost.
“Strong partners are an essential element to our success, and we have found another in Tokuyama. This is a fantastic validation of our technology with tremendous upside,” said Frank van Mierlo, CEO, 1366 Technologies. “When many in the solar industry are pulling back, 1366 and Tokuyama are readying for the inevitable global market turnaround.”
“For nearly a century, Tokuyama has taken pride in its ability to pursue innovation and make the world a better place. Our strategic partnership with 1366 is a prime example of that commitment,” said Hidenori Okamoto, Managing Executive Officer, Tokuyama Corporation. “We’re very excited to bring our materials expertise to the table.”
Earlier this year, 1366 celebrated the opening of a new, 25 MW wafer manufacturing facility, the final step in the path to commercialization of the company’s Direct Wafer technology. Since its founding in 2007, the company has steadily and quietly reached new technical heights, achieving competitive cell efficiencies of 17 percent in customer trials and sharply reducing the variance in wafer product quality.
About 1366 Technologies
1366 Technologies aims to deliver solar at the cost of coal. The company combines breakthrough technology innovations with lean manufacturing processes to make a new class of silicon wafers, the basic building blocks of solar cells, at a fraction of today’s cost. Developed by a veteran team of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, including photovoltaic industry expert and former MIT professor Dr. Emanuel Sachs, the company’s novel approach breaks the historic efficiency and cost tradeoff of photovoltaics. 1366 Technologies is headquartered in Bedford, MA. For more information, please visit www.1366tech.com.
About Tokuyama Corporation
Tokuyama Corporation was founded in 1918 and has 5500 employees. Tokuyama Group mainly manufactures and sells chemical products such as soda ash, caustic soda, vinyl chloride resin, film products, isopropyl alcohol, pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, multicrystalline silicon, silica, aluminum nitride, portland cement, plastic window sashes and others. For more information, please visit http://www.tokuyama.co.jp/eng/.
