WATERLOO - ARISE Technologies Corporation which is dedicated to becoming a leader in high-performance, cost-effective solar technology, today announced that its photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing plant in Bischofswerda, Germany has produced its first PV cells on line 2 on schedule.

As planned, ARISE is using a production process on line 2 that produces mono-crystalline PV cells which is expected to result in efficiencies of up to 18% when fully optimized. The PV cells initially produced on line 2 achieved an efficiency range of 15.14% to 15.95%. These cells are in the standard 156 mm x 156 mm pseudo-square format. The process optimization-commissioning phase has just started and the company expects to increase the cell efficiency level leading up to completion of the Site-Acceptance-Test (SAT) in the second-quarter. The company plans to ramp up commercial production on line 2 as orders from customers confirm volume requirements.

"We are very pleased with these initial test runs of PV cells and attribute this success to our team and our suppliers having more experience with the technology and processes. This is a good indication that we will have a smoother line 2 commissioning and ramp-up compared with line 1 following its start up last April," said Vice-President and General Manager of ARISE Technologies Deutschland GmbH (ARISE Germany), Sjouke Zijlstra.

"We congratulate all of our ARISE Germany team, and all our partners and suppliers" said the company's interim President and Chief Executive Officer Vern Heinrichs.

"In the coming weeks, we will ship samples from line 2 to our customers for qualification and will plan commercial production based on orders. Our customers have indicated solid interest in our new higher-efficiency products. Over time, as we proceed with some proprietary enhancements and process optimizations, we expect these mono-crystalline PV cells to achieve an efficiency of up to 18%. The combination of line 1 and line 2 provides us with the ability to ship more than 80MW of PV cells per year with the flexibility to meet the requirements of our customers with both high-quality multi-crystalline and mono-crystalline products," said Mr. Heinrichs.