Braggone and Beneq Team Up to Offer Turnkey Solution That Dramatically Increases...

Braggone and Beneq Team Up to Offer Turnkey Solution That Dramatically Increases Efficiencies of Solar Cells

Advantages Allow Solar Manufacturers to Cut Selected Manufacturing
Costs by 50%, While Increasing Relative Device Quantum Efficiencies by
as Much as 5%. Materials Deliver More Light to the Active Region of
the Solar Cell; Turnkey Process Allows Elimination of CVD tools
OULU, Finland--(Business Wire)--Braggone, the optoelectronics materials company, has signed a
joint development agreement with equipment supplier Beneq that offers
a turnkey solution to provide a custom matched material and toolset
for the maximum manufacturing efficiency and product performance of
solar cells. Demand for new turnkey solutions is rapidly increasing in
the equipment intensive photovoltaic (PV) industry and this
collaboration will further accelerate the growth of Braggone in solar
applications.

Braggone recently announced a new product line that greatly
increases the efficiency of solar cells and allows manufacturing
facilities to cost-effectively increase their capacity. The custom
designed compounds, custom tuned at the silicon and metal-oxide based
polymer level, can dramatically reduce reflection from glass and
silicon, and therefore, deliver substantially more light to the active
regions of the solar cell, resulting in higher efficiencies. The tool
solutions from Beneq are based on extensive experience in providing
equipment for applying thin film coatings on functional surfaces such
as glass and metals. The spray coating method used is made possible by
a new, Beneq proprietary high-capacity two-fluid atomizer, which
reduces the droplet diameter to submicron size, enabling high-speed
processing. The combination of materials from Braggone and the
manufacturing solution from Beneq will help solar cell suppliers
dramatically reduce their cost per peak Watt.

"We estimate that solar cell manufacturers can reduce certain
manufacturing costs by up to 50%, while increasing significantly their
cell and module efficiencies," commented Ari Karkkainen, Braggone CTO.
"Our target is to push conventional cell relative quantum efficiencies
up by 5% through the use of our products. That can mean more than 50%
power output increase at the module level."

"Due to the collaboration with Beneq, we can deliver increased
performance and reduced costs all in one turnkey solution," Karkkainen
added. "Our system has been designed in a way that it meets industrial
requirements of high efficiency PV device manufacturing. With our
materials and process platform flexibility, we can address efficiency
improvement requirements in crystalline silicon and thin solar cells
as well as in module processes. Our technology allows our customers to
achieve superior optical confinement as well as excellent front and
rear passivation in combination with a high bulk lifetime. Our aim is
to make sub-one euro per peak watt manufacturing costs a reality."

Maximum throughput, lower cost-of-ownership - process can
eliminate CVD tools

When compared to materials such as silicon nitride, the Braggone
materials can cut reflection by half and costs associated with
deposition tools by even more than half. Braggone tunes the optics of
the cell by spray, slit, spin, or dip-coating layers of molecularly
tailored anti-reflective and hydrogenation coatings in a rapid and
cost-effective atmospheric in-line process rather than having to use
expensive chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tools.

Substantial savings result from:

-- Maximum throughput and elimination of batch processing
bottleneck with in-line process

-- Vacuumless process conducted in atmospheric conditions means
high throughput and uptime

-- Double the anti-reflective performance of Braggone materials
compared to silicon nitride

-- Less consumables used

-- Small tool footprint increases fab floor space

-- As much as 10 times less electricity used than with a CVD tool

-- Much lower cost-of-ownership than a CVD process

The system is applicable for both crystalline wafers and large,
thin film solar glass substrates, as well as module glass. One tool
can produce multiple refractive index (RI) films and films with both
optical anti-reflective coatings (ARC) and electrical functions
(passivation, hydrogenation) that are absolutely necessary to
dramatically boost cell efficiencies. This announcement is the first
in what Braggone believes will be a series of collaborations with
toolmakers to demonstrate the performance of these materials with
different application methods.

Recently announced multi-million dollar funding

Braggone announced last week that it has received multi-million
dollar funding from TEKES (The National Technology Agency of Finland)
to commercialize their polymer materials for worldwide
commercialization. TEKES is the same funding agency behind Nokia's
dramatic success in the cell phone market.

About Braggone

With offices located in Oulu, Finland, London, UK, and Hong Kong,
SAR China, Braggone is an innovative technology company focused on the
manufacturing of advanced optoelectronic and information electronic
materials and components. Braggone's portfolio of materials (17 filed
patents, four of which have already been granted) and processes are
utilized to improve performance and facilitate production for various
component and system structures. The company's current materials
products are applied in digital displays used in mobile phones and
televisions, advanced semiconductors, digital cameras, photovoltaic
panels, LEDs and memory for PCs and MP3 devices. Through fundamental
materials development and advanced process applications, Braggone
works closely with its clients to increase their products' performance
in flat panel displays, semiconductors, LEDs and solar cells.
Additional information can be found at www.braggone.com.

About Beneq

Beneq, OY, Vantaa, Finland, is a nanotechnology driven company
with a strong IR portfolio offering manufacturing equipment and
technology for functional coating. Beneq's offerings include equipment
based on Hot Aerosol Layering Operation (nHALO(R)) and Atomic Layer
Deposition (ALD) technologies. HALO is a flame spray technology, used
mainly for applying functional coatings on glass and ceramic tiles. It
is also used for multi-component nanoparticle synthesis. ALD systems
are used to produce accurate, pinhole-free and conformal thin-film
coatings on various substrates. See www.beneq.com.

Braggone
Yrjo Ojasaar, CEO, +358.40.356.0262
yrjo.ojasaar@braggone.com
or
Beneq
Sampo Ahonen, CEO, +358 40 5201090
sampo.ahonen@beneq.com
or
Kirkpatrick Communications
Bruce Kirkpatrick, +1 925-244-9100
brucekirk@kirk-com.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008