PVCS.L Regulatory News (PVCS)

19 Sep 2007 07:02

PV Crystalox Solar PLC19 September 2007 For immediate release: 19 September 2007 PV Crystalox Solar production facility for solar-grade silicon Ground-breaking ceremony with the Minister for Economic Affairs Reiner Haseloff PV Crystalox Solar PLC today celebrated its ground-breaking ceremony for itsproduction facility for solar-grade silicon in Bitterfeld, Germany. This sets anew milestone to increase the Group's ability to source solar-grade silicon atfavourable conditions allowing it to further expand its international businessprofitably. The facility will be completed by the end of 2008 and will be putinto operation at the beginning of 2009. In the first year the annual production is expected to reach 900 MT, thereafterproduction is expected to increase to 1,800 MT. "If the market developsaccording to expectations, we would be able to further increase the capacity",said PV Crystalox Solar Board Member Hubert A. Aulich in the presence of Dr.Reiner Haseloff, Minister for Economic Affairs and Employment of Saxony-Anhalt,and numerous invited guests. The facility will be built in the Chemical Park of Bitterfeld, Germany, theregion with one of the largest chemical production sites in Europe. PV CrystaloxSolar will employ a modified version of the well-established Siemens-process,which was optimised for solar applications. With this process high-puritysilicon is produced that meets the specifications, the company requires for itsin-house multicrystalline wafer technology. Evonik Degussa GmbH, Duesseldorf, a wholly owned subsidiary of Evonik Industrieswill supply PV Crystalox Solar with the high purity raw material Siridion(R)Chlorosilane in a fence to fence operation. Degussa is the largest chlorosilaneproducer world-wide. The close partnership with Degussa will also result in anoptimized chemical infrastructure for distributing and handling chlorosilanesand by-products. The company has signed a ten year contract with Degussa for thedelivery of chlorosilanes. Expected investment for the 1,800 MT facility will be approximately 80 millionEURO. Financial support will be provided by the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, theFederal Government and the European Union in the amount of approximately 21million EURO. The plant is estimated to create approx. 100 new jobs and will beone of the first industrial production sites in Europe dedicated exclusively tosilicon for solar electricity using a modified version of the Siemens-process. Notes to Editors PV Crystalox Solar, initially established in the UK in 1982, is a highlyspecialised supplier to the world's leading solar cell manufacturers, producingmulticrystalline silicon ingots and wafers for use in solar electricitygeneration systems. The Group was one of the first to develop multicrystallinetechnology on an industrial scale, setting the industry standard for ingotproduction. The Group manufactures silicon ingots in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, with themajority of its output shipped to Japan, where it is sold either as ingots or aswafers after processing by a sub-contractor. The balance of its output isprocessed into wafers for European customers at the Group's facilities in Erfurt, Germany. PV Crystalox Solar was admitted to the main market of the London Stock Exchangeon 11 June 2007. On 11 September 2007 the Group reported its half year resultsfor the period ending 30 June 2007. PV Crystalox Solar's production output overthe period was 89MWp. Total sales revenues increased by 8% and earnings beforeexceptional items increased by 13.3% on the corresponding period in the previousyear. For further information contact: PV Crystalox Solar PLC Tel: +44 (0)1235 770 044Iain Dorrity, Chief Executive OfficerPeter Finnegan, Chief Financial OfficerDr Hubert Aulich, Executive Director, German Operations Tel: +49 (0)361 600 8512 Gavin Anderson & Company Tel: +44 (0)20 7554 1400Kate HillRobert Speed This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange