PI Berlin AG Expands to Meet Demands of U.S. Photovoltaic Market

BUSINESS WIRE/March 10, 2009

Independent Testing Lab Announces ISO/IEC Accreditation; Solaria as First U.S. Customer

Photovoltaik Institut Berlin AG (PI Berlin) today announced that it has received accreditation as an official ISO/IEC testing laboratory for the photovoltaics (PV) industry. Widely recognized in Europe for its reliability testing and engineering analysis, the independent firm is expanding to meet the growing demand of the U.S. market and confirmed U.S. module manufacturer, Solaria Corporation, as its first customer in North America.

Founded in 2006 by some of the best-known names in the PV industry, including Dr. Paul Grunow, co-founder of Q-Cells SE and Solon SE, and Prof. Dr. Stefan Krauter, co- founder of Solon SE, PI Berlin has become a valued resource for the global solar market, offering testing analysis, consulting services and original research. The move to become an accredited ISO/IEC lab evolved as a result of the mounting demand for quality engineering and points to the founding team’s core strengths.

“We created PI Berlin because we saw a great need for expertise in module design and performance testing as a new generation of solar technologies began to enter the global marketplace,” said Dr. Grunow. “For trusted partners like Solaria, our role is to accelerate time-to-market while ensuring a high level of quality assurance and precision testing.”

“Since 2007 we have worked closely with PI Berlin to audit our manufacturing processes and create modules of the highest quality,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO of Solaria. “The expertise there and the willingness to form a long-term collaborative relationship with us has undoubtedly influenced our commitment to high quality products and processes, while providing us with a distinct competitive edge.”

About Photovoltaik Institut Berlin

Photovoltaik Institut (PI) Berlin was founded by Dr. Paul Grunow, co-founder of Solon SE and Q-Cells SE, Prof. Dr. Stefan Krauter co-founder of Solon SE, Dr. Jürgen Arp and Sven Lehmann in October 2006 on the campus of the Berlin Institute of Technology (TUB). PI Berlin specializes in testing, consulting and R&D for photovoltaic modules. See: http://www.pi-berlin.com