THORNTON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI), a developer manufacturer
of state of the art flexible thin-film solar modules, announced today
that it has been selected for negotiations for a U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) Photovoltaic (PV) Technology Pre- Incubator project award.
The new subcontract from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) represents approximately $315,000 of subcontract value over a
12-month period, pending negotiations. Funding for the PV Technology
Pre-Incubator program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act.
The proposed effort involves using a zinc-magnesium-oxide (ZnMgO)
deposited by Ascent's proprietary process in order to replace the
standard window layer of a copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide (CIGS)
device, and eventually, replacing all the top layers of the device. Use
of ZnMgO could potentially improve the performance and reduce the cost
of AST's CIGS product, as well as provide another piece of the puzzle
towards developing the next generation of CIGS products.
Dr. Joseph Armstrong, Chief Technical Officer of Ascent Solar, stated,
"We are very pleased that the DOE and the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory have selected us for this award. This program builds upon our
existing ongoing internal research and development in this area, and has
heritage back to our work on multijunction devices with the United
States Missile Defense Agency and the United States Air Force.
Successful completion of this program can significantly change how our
existing devices are completed in the near future, and can have positive
impact upon the manufacturing process in terms of reduced capital
expenditures in setting up a facility, as well as reduction in the
overall manufacturing cost of our product."
About Ascent Solar Technologies:
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer and developer of
thin-film photovoltaic modules with substrate materials that can be more
flexible and affordable than most traditional solar panels. Ascent Solar
modules can be directly integrated into standard building materials,
space applications, consumer electronics for portable power or
configured as stand alone modules for large scale terrestrial
deployment. Ascent Solar is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado. For
more information, go to www.AscentSolar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical
or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's
actual operating results to be materially different from any historical
results or from any future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly
describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider
statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects,"
"expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans,"
"plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking
statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks
and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.