Lowell, Mass. and Orlando, FL - Jan. 30 2008 - Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to energy, and SKYShades®, one of the global leaders in supplying shade and tension membrane structures, today announced they have entered into a development agreement per a confidential memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the purpose of investigating the creation of photovoltaic electrical power for SKYShade products.
| | From left to right - Joe McKenna SKYShades Executive Vice President, Dan Williams Konarka's Vice President Product and Business Development, Rick Hess Konarka's President and Chief Executive Officer, Barry Maranta President SKYShades discuss the field testing. |
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| | Converting light to energy. |
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"Konarka's photovoltaic materials are lightweight, flexible and more versatile than traditional solar materials so Konarka is the ideal choice for us to work with to investigate the possibilities of integrating solar technology into our shades," commented Barry Maranta, president and CEO at SKYShades. "With this technology development agreement, SKYShades is committed to advancing our products and being the world's largest supplier of tension fabric structures."
Konarka has agreed to design custom Power Plastic® prototypes and design layout suggestions for delivery in 2008. SKYShades will use the prototypes to determine arrangement and fastening methods and build prototype designs for the purposes of further investigation and development by both companies.
"We are delighted to be working with SKYShades to develop prototypes for investigating the potential of generating electricity within the tension membrane fabric canopy market," commented Rick Hess, president and CEO at Konarka. "Entering development in this market space furthers Konarka's commitment to delivering our photovoltaic technology commercially for numerous applications."
About SKYShades
Based in Orlando, Florida and Brisbane, Australia, with franchise partners across Asia and the Middle East, SKYShades specializes in the design, engineering and installation of high-tech, high quality tension membrane fabric structures for a comprehensive range of applications, such as hotels/resorts, playgrounds, schools, homes, restaurants, bars, shopping malls, recreation spaces, car dealerships, car washes, gas stations, walkways, theme parks and specialist architectural purposes. For more information, visit: www.skyshades.com and www.skyshades.com.au.
About Konarka Technologies, Inc.
Konarka builds products that convert light to energy - anywhere. As the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic technology that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished technical team. The Company's Power Plastic®
technology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, business development offices in Asia and a research and development facility in
Austria. For additional information, visit http://www.konarka.com.
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