Nanosolar Raises $70 Million in New Capital

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 1, 2012) - Nanosolar Inc. today announced that it has raised $70 million in new capital. The financing will be used to expand production of thin film solar cells and panels, support research and development designed to deliver greater efficiency, and drive faster commercialization of the company's solar technology. The over-subscribed round was funded by current and new investors, including OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Ohana Holdings LLC, and international Family Offices.

"We strongly believe in Nanosolar's technology and the company's ability to deliver the most cost-efficient solar electricity for utility scale and defense installations," said John Trbovich, of Arsenal Venture Partners, the manager of OnPoint Technologies, Inc.

"We are pleased to see the continued trust that our investors place in our company. The Family Offices that joined the round have a long-term view of the solar market and will help Nanosolar scale its business faster," said Guido Polko, executive chairman of Nanosolar's board of directors. "With this latest round of funding, Nanosolar will be able to continue ramping up its production capabilities and achieve a faster time-to-market with its products. The money also will allow us to deepen our R&D efforts aimed at achieving even greater efficiency, and significantly expand our employee base in both Europe and the United States."

By printing CIGS inks on low-cost aluminum foil, Nanosolar is utilizing its proprietary high-throughput roll-to-roll printable semiconductor technology to enable the world's lowest-cost thin-film solar panels. This approach minimizes the use of expensive, high vacuum manufacturing equipment, and enables Nanosolar solar cells and panels to reach efficiencies competitive with crystalline silicon panels. Nanosolar currently has manufacturing capacity in excess of 100 MW, with committed deliveries to multiple international customers in the 2 to 11 MW range. The company has achieved lab-tested top cell efficiency of 17.1 percent as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

"Nanosolar has proven that it continues to effectively execute on its product roadmap and has established itself as a provider of world-class solar solutions," said Eugenia Corrales, CEO of Nanosolar.

About Nanosolar
Nanosolar designs, engineers, and manufactures innovative thin-film solar cells and panels based on printing CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) proprietary inks on low-cost aluminum foil. The company's current product, the Nanosolar Utility Panel, enables competitively priced peak power and installed system economics at utility-scale. Nanosolar operates the industry's first roll-to-roll solar cell printing factory at its headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and a panel-assembly factory in Luckenwalde, Germany. For more information, please visit http://www.nanosolar.com.