Solar Management Veteran Lends Renowned Expertise to Growing Company

Solar Management Veteran Lends Renowned Expertise to Growing Company

Santa Clara, Calif.— July 11, 2007—Solaicx, a leading manufacturer of mono-crystalline silicon ingots and wafers optimized for photovoltaic applications, today announced the appointment of Harry Shimp to the company's board of directors. Mr. Shimp, former president and CEO of BP Solar and current founder and president of Charon Industries, joins the board as Solaicx begins its large production expansion in Portland, Oregon.

"From a growth perspective, Solaicx is at an inflection point - it has validated its technology and now is moving rapidly into its execution stage," said Mr. Shimp. "I am looking forward to leveraging my management experience to sustain Solaicx's current expansion and momentum."

Mr. Shimp has over 25 years of business management experience with both small start-ups and large, global operations. After holding various management positions at General Electric, he moved quickly into venture capital, founding Charon Industries to serve as the liaison between various investor groups. Concurrently, as president of Solarex he guided a successful merger with BP in 1999 and subsequently formed BP Solar, where he served as president and CEO. He joins existing Solaicx board members Alex Wong, DE Shaw, Ken Pearlman, Firsthand Capital; Michael Schwab, Big Sky Partners, Bob Ford, Solaicx CEO; and Chairman Robert Medearis.

"Harry's deep knowledge of the solar industry combined with his broad executive experience enables him to make a valuable contribution to Solaicx's success," said Bob Ford, president and CEO of Solaicx. "It's an honor to have another highly sought after industry expert join our team. We will benefit immensely from Harry's valuable insight and direction as we execute our plans for rapid manufacturing expansion and build on our existing market traction."

Solaicx has created an advanced manufacturing technology that yields low-cost, higher quality solar ingots and wafers optimized for photovoltaic applications. The company's proprietary equipment is designed for the high volume, continuous production of superior-performance, single crystal silicon ingots that dramatically reduce manufacturing costs. Designed specifically for the photovoltaic industry, the Solaicx method sidesteps the inherent inefficiencies of the semiconductor manufacturing process, enabling efficiencies that translate to a reduction in the cost of solar electricity.

About Solaicx
Solaicx manufactures low-cost, high-quality silicon ingots and wafers using proprietary equipment optimized for the solar industry. Solaicx is "making solar electricity cost effective"® by reducing the manufacturing cost of crystalline photovoltaics, which comprise over 90% of all solar cells on the market today. The Solaicx process provides significant competitive advantages in terms of cost, quality, and silicon utilization. Solaicx is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. with a large-scale production facility in Portland, OR. For more information, visit www.solaicx.com

Media contact:
Sonia Aggarwal, Antenna Group for Solaicx
sonia@antennagroup, 415-977-1921