Voltaix receives $10 million in equity financing from MissionPoint Capital

BRANCHBURG, USA: Voltaix, a leading provider of materials that enhance the performance of semiconductor chips and solar cells, has received $10 million in equity financing from MissionPoint Capital Partners, a private investment firm providing growth capital to companies focused on clean energy solutions.

Voltaix also announced that Mark Schwartz, co-founder and Chairman of MissionPoint and formerly Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia, has joined the Voltaix board of directors.

"Mark Schwartz brings tremendous experience and insight to our board of directors and will help Voltaix become a global leader in advanced materials manufacturing," said Peter B. de Neufville, Chairman of Voltaix. "This equity financing will help Voltaix significantly increase our production and development capabilities, and will enable Voltaix to expand our activity in Asian markets."

"With a quarter century of technology leadership, Voltaix has a strong legacy of innovation that has helped electronics manufacturers support the expanding demand for applications such as thin film photovoltaics," said Schwartz. "Voltaix is positioned to capitalize on extraordinary growth opportunities as a result of the transition to low-carbon technologies. Our investment in Voltaix is consistent with MissionPoint's strategy to partner with companies spearheading this global transformation."

"Solar cell producers are increasingly focused on materials that increase cell efficiency, and Voltaix is on the leading edge of innovation in this area," said Mark K. Fine, Chief Executive Officer of Voltaix. "This partnership with MissionPoint strengthens our ability to maintain our leadership position as a developer of enhanced products for the PV and semiconductor industry."

According to Paula Mints, Principal Analyst at Navigant Consulting, shipments of thin film photovoltaics (using amorphous silicon, CdTe and CIGS technologies) grew at a compound annual rate of more than 100% from 2005 through 2009 and should reach $9 billion by 2015.

Following a 22-year career at Goldman Sachs, Mark Schwartz served as President and CEO of Soros Fund Management from 2002 through 2004.