Corning Reaches Milestone in Photovoltaic Glass Program With First Commercial Order

Published on Wednesday, 01 February 2012 08:37 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

CORNING, N.Y.-( Business Wire )-

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) announced today its first commercial order for photovoltaic (PV) glass substrates. This milestone order follows three years of development work and extensive customer engagement, resulting in an engineered glass that enables higher efficiency and lighter weight thin-film photovoltaic modules. The PV glass substrates will ship immediately.

“We understand the current market challenges for photovoltaics and the focus on delivering cost-effective solar energy solutions. Clearly, energy conversion efficiency is integral to addressing these challenges. Therefore, we are very excited about this initial deployment of Corning’s PV glass substrates and their ability to deliver on such an important need in the advancement of thin-film PV solutions,” said Dr. Gary Calabrese, senior vice president, Corning New Business Development. “The substantial efficiency improvement of our glass technology has been demonstrated in lab and customer trials. Now, this order validates the need for engineered glass to drive higher conversion efficiency and can provide module makers with a competitive advantage.”

Corning’s PV glass substrates can increase current thin-film module efficiency by 20% to 30%. The glass has high transmission, allowing more sunlight into the semiconductor layer. Corning’s substrates are also high-temperature tolerant. Because the glass can withstand higher temperature deposition, more uniform semiconductor films may be applied, which increases overall conversion efficiency.

John Duke, business director for Corning Photovoltaic Glass Technologies, said, “Corning is committed to offering innovative glass substrates that enable increased solar conversion efficiency. This is just the beginning.”

Corning’s photovoltaic glass substrates are also 50% stronger with less than half the thickness of the glass commonly used today in thin-film PV modules. Corning’s photovoltaic glass is being produced at its Harrodsburg, Kentucky plant, where Corning^® Gorilla^® Glass, a protective cover for high-end display devices, and EAGLE XG^® glass, the leading substrate within the display industry, were also developed.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which are based on current expectations and assumptions about Corning’s financial results and business operations, that involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include: the effect of global political, economic and business conditions; conditions in the financial and credit markets; currency fluctuations; tax rates; product demand and industry capacity; competition; reliance on a concentrated customer base; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability of critical components and materials; new product commercialization; pricing fluctuations and changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; new plant start-up or restructuring costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political or financial instability, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions, or major health concerns; adequacy of insurance; equity company activities; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; retention of key personnel; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory developments. These and other risk factors are detailed in Corning’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

About Corning Incorporated

Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on more than 160 years of materials science and process engineering knowledge, Corning creates and makes keystone components that enable high-technology systems for consumer electronics, mobile emissions control, telecommunications and life sciences. Our products include glass substrates for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops; ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems; optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug discovery; and other advanced optics and specialty glass solutions for a number of industries including semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy, and metrology.

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