Sunovia and EPIR Announce Substantial Improvements in the Growth of Single-Crystal Cadmium Telluride on Silicon
Source/Type: Company News Releases

November 18, 2008... Sarasota, Florida and Bolingbrook, Illinois USA -— Sunovia Energy Technologies, Inc. and EPIR Technologies, Inc. (“EPIR” and collectively with SUNV, the “companies”) announce substantial improvements in their process of growing very-high-quality single-crystal cadmium telluride on silicon. This achievement is the foundational precursor for creating ultra-high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells with substantially lower costs than current multi-junction photovoltaic (PV) approaches. These process improvements involved increasing single-crystal growth rates by over 500 percent, allowing for lower processing times per wafer and more PV cells per deposition chamber per day, increasing throughput and lowering costs. The companies believe this breakthrough achievement will accelerate their demonstration of an initial 20MW manufacturing system for ultra high efficiency, low cost solar cells. Further, the companies believe that the advanced manufacturing system can be duplicated for much less than the typical cost for advanced solar cell manufacturing systems in existence today.

In addition, deposition uniformity was greatly improved with crystal quality distributions being reduced closer to the 55 arcsecond X-Ray rocking curve width previously reported. Improving uniformity is a noteworthy advancement as it makes larger wafers and larger deposition chambers possible, which aids in increasing throughput and lowering costs.

Sunovia and EPIR’s CdTe-on-Si technology is currently being funded and developed to produce high-sensitivity, long-wavelength infrared (IR) imaging technology with much larger formats and substantially lower costs than currently employed technologies. These breakthroughs made in the development of IR technology are directly transferable to the production of high-efficiency, low-cost multi-junction PV cells.

The companies’ approach of growing high-quality II-VI semiconductor materials on low-cost large silicon wafers via EPIR’s high throughput deposition (HTD) technology for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems offers several advantages over current technologies, including:

The II-VI semiconductor material system offers many different material systems and opportunities to create multi-junction cells which can effectively span the solar spectrum.
The use of active silicon growth substrates leverages the silicon electronics industry technology to obtain large and extremely low cost, high quality silicon wafers.
II-VI multi-junction solar cells in CPV systems use less than 1/1000th of the Cd and Te of their polycrystalline thin-film counterparts, avoiding concerns of environmental toxicity and raw material supply.
The HTD process does not use the highly toxic and flammable materials that III-V semiconductor deposition processes use, and hence does not require extensive and expensive safety systems, allowing faster capacity commissioning and regulatory approval.
The HTD process requires less than 20 sq ft per MW of production capability at an investment far less than the $1.5M/MW of current high-efficiency thin-film deposition systems.
About Sunovia Energy Technologies, Inc.

Sunovia Energy Technologies is a Sarasota, FL-based renewable energy and energy conservation company that is commercializing advanced, cost-effective cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell and infrared technologies. Sunovia is also the owner of the EvoLucia™ line of energy-efficient lighting products.

Sunovia’s solar and LED lighting technologies are among the most cost and energy efficient in the world. The Company maintains a focus on research and development, and works diligently to ensure that it remains at the forefront of the energy curve as renewable energy markets rapidly expand and territories are defined. Sunovia is being advised by pre-eminent authorities in the field of renewable energy, including former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Under Secretary of Commerce Kenneth I. Juster.

Sunovia owns a significant equity interest in Illinois-based EPIR Technologies, Inc. (www.epir.com), one of the most advanced IR sensor and IR imaging companies in the world, and is also the exclusive marketing partner for all EPIR products. EPIR is a pioneer and leader in the commercialization of CdTe on Si and HgCdTe on Si photovoltaic products, and its knowledge and experience in the growth of these II-VI semiconductors is equal to or exceeds any other company in the world. EPIR’s unique expertise has been endorsed by the award of Congressional funds for the development of a manufacturing capability for CdTe on Si and the award of a patent for growing CdTe directly on a Si readout integrated circuit. EPIR and Sunovia have a network of close collaborative relationships with the major Defense Department and industrial labs involved in IR detection and imaging, including the Army Research Laboratory, the Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate, BAE Systems, and other laboratories around the world.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements made by Sunovia in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Sunovia believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: development and maintenance of strategic acquisitions; domestic and international acceptance of our product lines; defending our intellectual property and proprietary rights; development of new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully completing commercial testing of new technologies and systems to support new products and services; and attracting and retaining qualified management and other personnel. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Sunovia’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.

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