ersol signs supply contract with leading Japanese wafer producer

Six-year contract concluded for the supply of multicrystalline silicon wafers
- Wafers enable total production volume of 90 MWp

Erfurt, 4 April 2008. ersol Solar Energy AG (ersol) today signed a contract for the supply of multicrystalline silicon wafers by one of the world’s leading wafer manufacturers which is located in Japan. Deliveries are due to start in 2009 and will generate a total production volume of at least 90 MWp at ersol. The silicon wafer price has been fixed for the entire term of the contract. The agreement proposes that ersol makes downpayments for a two-digit million US dollar sum, to be offset against subsequent payments for the purchase of wafers.

“We are delighted that the signing of this contract has enabled us to continue our many years of cooperation with this wafer producer with large-scale deliveries. We value this manufacturer as a reliable wafer supplier who has delivered high-quality multicrystalline silicon wafers for our cell production in the past. Together with the silicon contracts already concluded, this raw material will guarantee our supplies for the planned capacity expansions to 550 MWp in the crystalline segment by the end of 2012,” said Jürgen Pressl (COO), ersol AG Management Board Member responsible for operations, after the contract signing. “Within our sourcing policy this wafer contract enables us to capitalise on the weak US dollar,” Pressl concluded.

ersol Solar Energy AG
Janina Broscheit
Tel.: +49 361 2195-1181
Fax: +49 361 2195-1133
presse@ersol.de
www.ersol.de

About ersol
ersol Solar Energy AG produces and markets high-quality silicon-based photovoltaic products. The Group comprises the segments Silicon, Wafers, Solar Cells and Modules. With sales of € 160 million in financial year 2007, the Thuringia-based company is one of the leading players in the solar industry. Listed since 30 September 2005 on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the young ersol share had already been added to the TecDAX on 19 December 2005. Currently the ersol Group has more than 850 employees.

The Company’s main goal is to establish itself even more strongly as a manufacturer of high quality silicon solar cells and to account for a disproportionate slice of the anticipated growth in the photovoltaic industry. To achieve this, ersol currently focuses on technologically demanding stages of the value chain for photovoltaic plants, and in particular on the production of wafers and solar cells. There are a number of pillars to the Company’s supply of the raw material it needs, silicon. It is primarily secured by long-term delivery agreements with leading polysilicon manufacturers. In addition to this, the Company’s internal recycling capacities in the silicon area also make an important contribution. Silicon is processed in the Wafers segment. The monocrystalline wafers manufactured there are preliminary products for the manufacturing of highly-efficient silicon solar cells in the Solar Cells segment. Since early 2006 the company has been delivering a part of its solar cells for the production of solar modules to the joint venture Shanghai Electric Solar Energy Co. Ltd. (SESE) in which the ersol Group has a 35% holding. The sales of these and other photovoltaic modules are handled in part by the Modules business segment. In the future, this segment is expected to include the Company’s own module production, planned for 2009. ersol also develops silicon-saving thin-film technology in the Modules segment. For this purpose ersol has a production facility for silicon thin-film modules.

This release was published on openPR.