December 21, 2009

Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany: New Chief Executive Officer Appointed at Calyxo

Dr Florian Holzapfel will take over as the new CEO of Calyxo GmbH, a subsidiary of Q-Cells SE, with effect from 1 January 2010.

Founded in 2005, Calyxo GmbH manufactures thin-film solar modules on the basis of cadmium-telluride technology at Thalheim in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, where the company currently employs around 150 people. In addition to the continued technological and product development, Calyxo plans a large scale rampup of its production. One of Dr Holzapfel's first responsibilities will be to secure extra financing for Calyxo's further expansion.

His predecessor, Dr Oliver Hartley, will reinforce the Q-Cells' Marketing & Sales Unit as Managing Director of Q-Cells Australia pty. ltd. Together with CTO Dr Michael Bauer, in 2008 and 2009 Oliver successfully steered Calyxo from the research stage to market.

Since the beginning of 2009, Dr Florian Holzapfel has developed the New Technologies Division of Q-Cells SE to the point where individual technologies can now be integrated in the group's core business. Since as far back as December 2006 he has been the Member of the Executive Board responsible for technology development in the wafer-based silicon area.

"In the three years he has been working on the Executive Board at Q-Cells, Dr Holzapfel has proven that he can ready photovoltaic technologies for market and beyond. This is why we have entrusted him with this important task," emphasised Marcel Brenninkmeijer, Supervisory Board Chairman of Q-Cells SE.

"We have conferred the position of CEO on Dr Florian Holzapfel because we want to ensure that Calyxo's highly promising thin-film technology will become a success story and Dr Holzapfel’s experience in this area will help Calyxo significantly," commented Anton Milner, CEO of Q-Cells SE.

Further details about: Calyxo