Konarka Technologies Demonstrates New Levels of Efficiency in Flexible Photovoltaic Cells by Joe Romano

Konarka Technologies Demonstrates New Levels of Efficiency in Flexible Photovoltaic Cells

by Joe Romano

"Konarka's chemistry-based cells represent a new breed of coatable, plastic, flexible photovoltaics that can be used in many applications where traditional photovoltaics can't compete," said Howard Berke, Chairman, Konarka Technologies, Inc.

Lowell, MA -- February 4, 2004 -- Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in developing and manufacturing breakthrough products that convert light to energy, announced that it has developed prototypes of its photovoltaic cells
that have achieved more than seven percent efficiency. This reinforces Konarka's leadership position in developing a new generation of solar cells for commercial applications.

Most solar cells currently in use are so-called "first generation" devices based on crystalline silicon wafers. "Second generation", or thin film solar cells, use semiconductor materials only a few micrometers thick. The performance of a solar cell is measured in terms of its efficiency at turning light into electricity. The efficiencies for first generation cells have been around 15 percent; that is, about one-sixth of the light striking the cell gets converted into electricity. The efficiencies for second generation products that are being manufactured today range from three to seven percent.

Konarka is focused on the development and commercialization of "third generation" cells that are lightweight, flexible and more versatile than previous generations of products. "Konarka's chemistry-based cells represent a new breed of coatable, plastic, flexible photovoltaics that can be used in
many applications where traditional photovoltaics can't compete," said
Howard Berke, Chairman, Konarka Technologies, Inc. "We have now built functioning, full-size production cells that have achieved close to eight percent efficiency and we expect to exceed 10 percent in the coming months," he added.

Konarka will be the first company to manufacture and commercialize highly efficient, flexible photovoltaics. The company will have pilot-scale production later this year and begin scaling-up production capacity in 2005.
"This breakthrough puts us on par with or in some cases exceeding second generation materials, but at lower cost and with more options in the product form factor," said Daniel Patrick McGahn, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Konarka Technologies, Inc. "Konarka's technical leadership along with its scalable manufacturing processes, open the way for cost-effective, mass production of environment-friendly, photovoltaic products."

"Third generation cells, such as those in development at Konarka, are theoretically capable of achieving 20 to 25 percent, maybe even as much as 30 percent efficiency," said Dr. Bill Beckenbaugh, President, Konarka Technologies, Inc. "Although there are other research laboratories that have approached 10 percent efficiency with third generation cells, those were lab-scale cells. In contrast, Konarka has been developing production size cells. That makes Konarka's breakthrough significant."

About Konarka Technologies, Inc.
Konarka builds products that convert light to energy - anywhere. Konarka is the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic products that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka's photovoltaic nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and
a technical team that includes Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger (UC Santa Barbara) and Dr. Michael Graetzel (Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne). Konarka is funded by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Zero Stage Capital, Ardesta LLC, NGEN, ChevronTexaco (NYSE: CVX) and Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN). Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, MA, U.S.A. and has subsidiaries in Linz, Austria and Zug, Switzerland.
For more information, visit www.konarka.com or contact Joe Romano, Partner, HighGround, Inc. at 781-279-1320 x 208 or jromano@highgroundinc.com.

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