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nanotimes Companies

rers create value for their customers by providing a portable charging mechanism for small devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, and MP3 players.

• Powered Shade Structures – A commercial café umbrella, a first-generation tension membrane shade structure outfitted with Power Plastic®

panels, provi- des power for laptops and mobile device charging.

• Next-Generation Solar Bus Shelters – Wi-fi enabled, advanced bus shelters use Power Plastic®

to

power the advertising signage, lights, and bus sche- dule, then return excess power to the grid.

• Self-Powered Smartcards – Smartcards use Power Plastic®

to power a small battery and electronics for security and identification.

• Building Integrated Photovoltaics – Power Plastic® incorporated into window glass and curtain walls provides power generation within building structures.

Milestones

Mr. Valenzuela remarked, “Konarka’s main objective is to make Power Plastic®

available to the market

and to gain consumer recognition as a quality brand. Through the commercialization process we are ex- pecting to increase the demand of the product and at the same time, ensure the product is both attractive and indispensable for the end user.”

Strategic Partners

Konarka has established business relationships with a number of partners. Among them are Chevron, Total, Mackenzie Investments, Draper Fisher

Another partner is Total, a major investor that is actively supporting the development and market introduction of Power Plastic® ping regions in the world.

, including the develo-

Jurvetson (DFJ), Good Energies, Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, Vanguard Ventures and New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

Just recently, in March 2010, the company signed a comprehensive R&D Collaboration and strategic in- vestment agreement with Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (Konica Minolta) who invested $20 million in Konarka. The companies will organize respective strengths in materials, optical and coating technolo- gies as well as joint development, aiming to impro- ve OPV performance, including higher conversion efficiency, longer life and lower manufacturing costs, to realize mass production of next-generation photo- voltaics.

© Konarka Technologies

10-07/08 :: July/August 2010