News - Sovello AG

JV Partners declare intent to sell Sovello AG

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:46:00 +0100

Thalheim, February 10, 2010. The companies Q-Cells SE, Evergreen Inc. and REC ASA agreed the key terms and conditions and signed a declaration of intent for the sale of the integrated manufacturer of solar modules Sovello AG with an investor which has already shown interest for a lengthy period of time. Intensive negotiations are currently being conducted on this basis.

In the course of this planned change in ownership, the current long term financing of Sovello - which has been subject to negotiations with the financing banks for some time - would be restructured. Until now, this financing has been provided by a syndicated credit facility under which the loans drawn could already be significantly reduced.

Due to its “Made in Germany” premium quality products, Sovello commands an
outstanding position in the PV market. The resulting full order books and the
successful launch of the third production line represent the foundation for further sustainable growth.

The Management Board expects the transaction to be able to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.

Recall of Grants by the European Commission

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:44:00 +0100

The European Commission announced today that a share of the grants which had been awarded in 2006 for the construction of the first integrated production line of the former EverQ GmbH (today Sovello AG) has been recalled.

The amount of EUR 11.6 Mio is related to a special bonus available to Small and Medium Size Enterprises known as SME Bonus. After completing an investigation launched in 2008, the European Commission came to the conclusion that the influence of the shareholder Q-Cells AG (today Q-Cells SE) had actually been significantly greater than this would normally have been the case for a share of 24.9 %. Based on information reviewed in the course of the worthiness of grants for the second production line of Sovello in 2006 it became clear that the – at the time – much larger Q-Cells AG would need to have been regarded as a partner company of Sovello. As the sales and employee numbers of partner companies must be taken into account when awarding a SME Bonus, this part of the grant was deemed to be incompatible with European subsidy regulations.

Sovello AG regrets the decisions communicated today and finds this decision difficult to follow. Sovello points out the grants awarded have been employed for the purposes intended and have contributed significantly to the creation of 1200 jobs at Sovello AG in the past four years. In view of the intense competition from Asian players which benefit from generous state aid, the timing of the financial burden for the Company and its Shareholders associated with this decision is very unfavourable reducing room for important investments in technology and growth.

Sovello AG refutes the supposition by the European Commission that Sovello (formerly EverQ GmbH) artificially kept the participation of one of its Joint Venture Partners below 25 %, as decisions regarding the participation are matter of shareholders only.

At this point it is not yet decided whether the Company will take legal action to contest this decision.

Contact Sovello AG
Konrad Sell
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)3494 – 6664 7511
Mobil: +49 (0)1525 – 4600 265
mailto: k.sell@sovello.com
www.sovello.com

Project Team Launches Educational Initiative „Solar Energy macht in Sachsen-Anhalt Schule“

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:48:00 +0100

Partnership Group Signals the Start of Initiative in Solar Valley Thalheim

On Thursday, January 21, 2010, the project “Solarenergie macht in Sachsen-Anhalt Schule” (“Solar Energy goes to school in Sachsen-Anhalt”) was launched at an opening ceremony at Sovello in Thalheim. The main goals of this initiative are to promote the involvement of students in addressing questions about future energy resources, the education of students via real life settings, and the demonstration of professional growth opportunities in this promising new industry.

In the first phase, twenty schools are participating in this project. Nine schools already have photovoltaic panels installed, and by the end of 2010, eleven more schools will have such solar installations on their roofs. The schools will receive teaching material for the classroom, and a display in the entrance of each school will show visitors the performance data from the solar installations. In a second phase, currently in planning, an additional 20 schools will come online.

In conjunction with the implementation of the solar installations, the school faculty will receive training to include the project in the curriculum, a web portal will support this effort, and a contest “Beste Solarschule” will be launched to further motivate students and promote this initiative.

The project was first initiated by MUTING in the middle of 2008, when the partners were brought on board and the financing of the photovoltaic installations by private investors was secured.Participating in this partnership group are the solar companies Sovello und Q-Cells, whose products will be used in the school installations. The solar system vendor Mp-Tec and the TechnikCentrum Thale are the other partners. Furthermore, the project is supported by the project developer MUTING as well as the Ministry for Economy and Labor, the Ministry for Agriculture and Environment, and the Ministry for Education.

The project „Solarenergie macht in Sachsen-Anhalt Schule“ receives funding from the European Social Fund and the state of Sachsen-Anhalt. In the long term, the project partnership hopes to have “dedicated copycats” who support this initiative to promote sustainable thinking and action by our youngest citizens, thereby helping to secure the business location Sachsen-Anhalt. The first solar installations will be handed over to the schools in the spring.

Contact Q-Cells SE:
Ina von Spies
Director Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)3494 – 6699 10121
Fax: +49 (0)3494 – 6699 10000
mailto: i.vonspies@q-cells.com
www.q-cells.com

Contact Sovello AG:
Konrad Sell
Referent Unternehmenskommunikation
Tel.: +49 (0)3494 – 6664 7511
Mobil: +49 (0)1525 – 4600 265
mailto: k.sell@sovello.com
www.sovello.com

Sovello joins PV CYCLE for Recycling of Solar Modules

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:45:00 +0100

At the beginning of 2010, Sovello AG became a member of the PV CYCLE association. This organization was founded in 2007 as a consortium of well known solar companies with a common goal to build a voluntary, industry wide take-back and recycling program ensuring optimal recycling and disposal of end-of-life solar modules. With its membership, Sovello underscores its own goal of becoming the most sustainable solar company in the world by offering its customers a clean solution and demonstrating a responsibility for its products throughout the entire value added chain—from the crystal growing process to the finished PV module and ending with the recycling/disposal of its products.Customers of Sovello AG can rejoice because with its membership in this association, Sovello AG ensures that its users can continue applying for KfW credits: Starting October 1, 2010, such credits will only be approved for building projects with PV modules, where the manufacturer can verify the professional, environmentally sound recycling and disposal of its modules, for instance by membership in an association such as PV CYCLE. With 85% of PV companies in the European market signed on, PV CYCLE has a sizable number of members and enough backing to offer responsible solutions for the take-back and disposal of PV modules across the industry. Information about the program is available under www.pvcycle.org

Contact Sovello AG:

Konrad Sell
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)3494 – 6664 7511
Cell: +49 (0)1525 – 4600 265
mailto: k.sell@sovello.com
www.sovello.com

Sovello Receives Environmental Certification Attaining ISO 14001

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:20:00 +0100

Sovello AG has made great strides towards reaching its goal of becoming the most sustainable solar enterprise in the world, and now it’s official, too. The company has proven in a series of tests conducted by TÜV Süd that the Integrated Management System (IMS) and its associated quality and environmentally relevant processes are "completely effective."

In their report, the testers especially praise the "very ambitious environmental program for 2009/2010." The company’s environmental policies contain an "obligation to adhere to legal requirements and are fully supported by the management."

The testers were especially impressed by the "highly motivated, flexible team" that is implementing the regulations of the IMS "with great enthusiasm." Its knowledge of the “transparent, multi-tiered IMS” and its general understanding of quality are "very high."

Last year, Sovello AG already received the ISO 9001 certificate for its Integrated Management System. Since then, the IMS and its contents have been continuously enhanced by adding "multi-faceted, environmentally relevant procedures, forms, registries and other verifications." But what was pivotal for Renate Westermann, Manager of Quality Management at Sovello, was not only the mere number of these documents, but the fact that all employees are fully committed to the self-imposed goal of becoming the most sustainable solar company in the world and are implementing this goal on all levels. For Westermamn, this integral approach is enormously important: "Only a holistic perspective of the entire system achieves a sustainable economic business model. To go after 14001 was only the next logical step."

And TÜV Süd fully agrees with this assessment: Sovello has become "a completely new brand, one that models sustainability as an integral principle in every social, technological, economic and environmental aspect."

High Demand for Sovello Modules – Staff Back in Full Force

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:39:00 +0200

Sovello is going strong. The company, which at the end of last year was renamed from EverQ GmbH to Sovello AG and began building distribution under its own new brand, almost doubled the number of distribution partners to eleven in the last three months since participating at the InterSolar trade show in Munich. “We achieved our goal of establishing a nationwide network of partners based on long-term cooperation,” rejoices CSO Christian Langen. Altogether the company now has sales contracts with distributors and project developers based in Germany that are also internationally active with a volume of more than 250 MWp until 2011. The focus for further growth will now be expanded to further European countries.

Driving this positive development is the fact that Sovello has established itself as a new, independent brand. More and more customers and installation professionals are requesting the high quality products from Sovello whose entire production from crystal growth to finished modules takes place in Germany. The company is confident that this trend will be confirmed at the PVSEC trade show in Hamburg next week. Visitors can find Sovello in Hall B6/33.

This latest jump in demand for its products allows Sovello to eliminate the reduced working hours which became necessary in May. All of the approximately 1,200 employees are now back in full force resuming regular working hours, thereby increasing production to full capacity in the coming months.

This current development is seen by Sovello’s management as a very positive sign standing in stark contrast to some naysayers who see Germany mainly as a retail market for the global solar industry, but otherwise predict a gloomy future as a development and production location. CEO Ted Scheidegger has no doubt that Sovello’s location in the Solar Valley (Saxony-Anhalt) is the perfect place to be: “We will continue to build a strong company in Germany supported by an exemplary Feed In Tariff (“EEG”) which puts us in a position to capitalize on further emerging international opportunities.”

Commission endorses €25 million aid to Sovello AG for STRING RIBBON™ solar modules plant in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:41:00 +0200

The European Commission has authorized €25 million of regional investment aid for the German company Sovello AG (formerly EverQ GmbH) for the production of STRING RIBBON™ solarmodules in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, for a solar energy investment project. The project involvesinvestment of €115 million and created several 100 new jobs in the region. After an in-depthinvestigation, opened in May 2008, the Commission concluded that the positive impact of the investment on regional development outweighs the potential distortions of competition.

Sovello was created in 2004 as a joint venture between Evergreen Solar Inc. of the US and Q-Cells SE of Germany. In 2005, Renewable Energy Corporation ASA of Norway entered the joint venture.

The project was implemented in Thalheim, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, a region with an abnormally low standard of living and high unemployment. It concerns the new plant, Sovello 2 (SV 2), for the integrated large scale production of solar energy modules using STRING RIBBON™ Sovello also already operated another plant, Sovello 1 (SV 1), in Thalheim, on land adjacent to SV 2, which
started production of solar modules in April 2006. Sovello has already received regional investment aid of € 27.5 million, including a 15% SME bonus, for SV 1. The German authorities claimed that SV 1 was designed as a pilot project to validate Evergreen's STRING RIBBON™ patent in an industrial process, combined with the manufacturing techniques of Q-Cells.

The Commission opened an in-depth investigation to investigate whether SV 1 and SV 2 were part of the same investment project, which would have considerably reduced the amount of aid that could be allowed for the second plant.

The Commission analysed and balanced the contribution of the investment project to the economic development of the region, as set out in the Multisectoral Framework on regional aid for large investment projects. It concluded that SV 2 and SV 1 did not form a single investment project because no physical and no strong functional links exist between the two projects; both investments had different aims although both plants have the same technical function and both projects are independently viable.

The Commission also concluded that the additional production capacity created by the project would raise no state aid concerns.

Dr. Theodor Scheidegger, CEO of Sovello AG, said: “We express our pleasure about the positive outcome of this investigation and our thanks to all stakeholders who granted an open and fair hearing to Sovello in this
matter.”

Sovello AG signs long-term sales partnerships

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Sovello AG signs long-term sales partnerships

Signed supply agreements with three wholesale distributors
Agreed volume of more than 120 Megawatt-peak modules performance for period 2009 – 2013

Thalheim, January 9, 2009. Sovello AG, producer of photovoltaic modules headquartered in Thalheim in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, has signed long-term agreements with three German photovoltaic wholesale distributors. Signed in the fourth quarter of 2008, the contracts run from three to five years, respectively, and cover the distribution of Sovello’s Pure Power Modules made out of crystalline silicon reaching a total volume of more than 120 Megawatt-peak (MWp) module capacity. The three contract partners are EWS GmbH & Co. KG headquartered in Handewitt, Schleswig-Holstein, PV5 Solarconcept GmbH in Kleinostheim near Aschaffenburg, and Soleg GmbH located in Zwiesel, Bavaria.

EWS GmbH & Co. KG, a wholesale distributor and consulting firm for photovoltaic, solar heating and wood pellet heating systems, signed a five year sales partnership agreement (2009 – 2013) with a volume of approximately 50 MWp. EWS GmbH & Co. KG is the market leader in northern Germany extending its sales of photovoltaic installations and other systems for renewable energy production into northeastern Germany as well as Denmark and Sweden.

The second partner, PV5 Solarconcept GmbH, functions as a specialized wholesale distributor for solar power installations offering its products to its trade and commerce customers in the Rhein-Main area and Bavaria as well as Spain and Italy. The supply contract with PV5 Solarconcept GmbH was signed for four years (2009 – 2012) agreeing on a volume of approximately 40 MWp.

Soleg GmbH signed an initial agreement for three years (2009 – 2011) to distribute Sovello’s Pure Power Modules with a volume of approximately 30 MWp. A wholesaler and system supplier for solar power and energy, Soleg GmbH also operates as a general contractor for large scale projects in southern Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy.

Christian Langen, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Sovello AG, expressed his satisfaction with the contract signing which occurred shortly before the end of the year: “We are very pleased to have signed with these competitive and experienced regional partners for distribution of our high-quality products ‘made in Germany,’ and who are joining us in our goal to become the most sustainable solar company worldwide. These long-term partnership agreements underscore our focus on customer-oriented product development, and we will support the distribution efforts of our partners with the appropriate marketing measures.”

Sovello AG, headquartered in southern Sachsen-Anhalt and formerly known as EverQ GmbH, is a joint venture of Q-Cells AG (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany), REC ASA (Sandvika, Norway) and Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Marlboro, USA). The company produces STRING RIBBON™ wafers and cells by using a special production technology patented by Evergreen Solar, and further assembles these STRING RIBBON™ wafers and cells into its high quality Pure Power Modules.
With this technology, Sovello AG uses up to 50% less energy and silicon in its production process compared to conventional production methods, thereby achieving a top position in the sustainability report of the solar industry.

Contact:
Sovello AG
Stefan Leppin
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel. +49 (0)3494 – 6664 7500
mailto: s.leppin@sovello.com
www.sovello.com

Sovello wins the 2008 Hugo-Junkers Innovation Award

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The state of Sachsen-Anhalt honors solar company in Thalheim with award in the category “Most Innovative Investment Strategy"

Thalheim, December 12, 2008.

Sovello AG (formerly EverQ GmbH), a leading high-tech company in the solar industry headquartered in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Sachsen-Anhalt, has won first place in the category “Most Innovative Investment Strategy” of the 2008 Hugo-Junkers Innovation Award. The award, which carries a 10,000 Euro cash prize, was
presented during a gala ceremony on Wednesday evening in the Franckeschen
Stiftungen in Halle (Saale).

The Hugo-Junkers Innovation Award is given by the Sachsen-Anhalt Ministry of Economy and Labor for exceptional innovative performances by companies located in Sachsen-Anhalt. It is named in honor of the aviation pioneer, Hugo Junkers, who gained fame far beyond Sachsen-Anhalt during the first 30 years of the 20th century through his innovative spirit and entrepreneurial work in the Dessau area. A total of 41 companies competed for the 9th Hugo-Junkers Innovation Award; eleven companies reached the final round and were asked to present their projects and companies to a high-profile jury chaired by the former CEO of Daimler Benz, Dr. Edzard Reuter.

“The future of our state depends on the areas of education, science, research and
technology, “ stated Dr. Reiner Haseloff, Minister for Economy of Sachsen-Anhalt, during the award ceremony. The jury chair, Dr. Reuter, was impressed with the breadth of potential exhibited by the innovative ideas submitted for the competition. “Today, you can all be proud of the results, the award winners and the innovative capabilities in this state, which were so impressively showcased in this competition, “ noted Dr. Reuter.

Dr. Ted Scheidegger, CEO of Sovello AG, received the award on behalf of the company from the economy minister, Dr. Haseloff. “As a very young company, we are particularly pleased to receive this award, which acknowledges our investments in connection with our rapid growth,” said Dr. Scheidegger. During the ceremony, Dr. Scheidegger announced that the award money will be used for further professional training programs benefiting Sovello’s employees.

PR Contact:
Stefan Leppin
Head of Corporate Communications
T +49(0)3494 6664 7500
F +49(0)3494 6664 1011

s.leppin(at)sovello.com

Sovello’s Business Model Proves Solid

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Thalheim, 09.12.2008

Profitable growth in the first three quarters in 2008
Third production line scheduled to start operating in Spring 2009
ISO 9001 Certification successfully completed – Environmental and sustainability management systems in preparation

The business model of Sovello AG, formerly known as EverQ GmbH, a leading producer of high quality solar modules remains solid despite the current crisis in the financial markets: In the first nine months of 2008, the company’s revenue grew 115% to approximately 170 Million Euro when compared to the same period the
previous year (Q1-3 2007: approx. 79 Million Euro). In the same period, the net profit grew from –2.8 Million to about 12 Million Euro. The production volume from January through the end of September reached 64 MWp, which represent an increase of 128.5% when compared to the same period the previous year (28 MWp).
By the end of this year, Sovello AG anticipates revenues of more than 220 Million Euro and a net profit of 15 Million Euro. Currently the company employs about 1100 employees. Taking into consideration the increasing competition, Sovello will approach the ongoing expansion of the Thalheim location (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany) with caution and prudence.

“Our order books are solidly filled and our new brand name will help us secure our market position and realizing new opportunities in the growing solar markets around the world,” states Sovello’s CEO Dr. Ted Scheidegger with conviction. At the same time, Sovello needs to effectively lower production and operating costs in order to remain competitive in a market expecting lower prices.

The construction of a third production line by Sovello at its Solar Valley location in Thalheim is moving along according to plan. The first ovens for the new Quad-Technology planned for that facility were delivered at the end of August from overseas; the initial test wafers built in these new facilities show good results. Sovello’s third line is scheduled to go into production in the spring of 2009. With this third production facility, the company will increase its technical capacity from its previous output of 100 MWp to 180 MWp per year.

Since October 31, 2008, Sovello AG is ISO 9001:2000 certified. With this milestone, the company provides a thoroughly documented quality management system across all departments, thus ensuring a consistent quality of the highest level for all products and services throughout the company. In the future, Sovello plans to create an environmental as well as sustainability management system. The first steps have already been taken by forming special work teams.

PR Contact:
Stefan Leppin
Head of Corporate Communications
T +49(0)3494 6664 7500
F +49(0)3494 6664 1011

s.leppin(at)sovello.com