AVA Solar raises seed round of funding
Fort Collins, Colorado — February 8, 2007 — AVA Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced, low-cost, thin film photovoltaic modules, announced today that it closed on its first round of funding. Incorporated in January, AVA Solar took just weeks to raise this round. Investors include new board members John Hill and Doug Schatz.
John Hill, chairman of the board of AVA Solar, founded Hill Carmen Ventures, the first major venture capital firm in the Rocky Mountain region and one of the top-performing funds in the industry. Mr. Hill has served on the boards of numerous companies, both public and private, including the National Venture Capital Association.
Doug Schatz is the founder, Chairman and former CEO of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASD: AEIS), headquartered in Fort Collins, CO. Advanced Energy engages in the design, manufacture, and support of power conversion and control systems, and gas flow control devices used in plasma-based thin-film processing equipment.
"AVA Solar is the most exciting startup I've been a part of in almost 30 years of investing in technology-based companies," said John Hill. "The solar energy market is growing rapidly, and AVA Solar's technology lowers the cost to a price point where it will be economically viable without subsidies in many markets around the world."
"I'm very impressed with the technical team and how far they have taken the technology with so little resources to this point," said Doug Schatz. "The process has been developed to scale easily and be very robust. The funds provided in this round will be enough to fund AVA's initial 3 megawatt pilot production line. When that is complete at the end of the year, the company should be ready to move into very large-scale production."
"We are very fortunate to have attracted some of the savviest investors and leading business minds in Northern Colorado. With their support, our path to full-scale production is clear," said Pascal Noronha, Ph.D., CEO of AVA Solar. "In particular, I look forward to John and Doug's support and guidance from their position on our board."
About AVA Solar
AVA Solar, Inc. was founded in 2007 to commercialize an advanced process for manufacturing cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules. Built upon 15 years of development at Colorado State University's Material Engineering Laboratory, AVA Solar has perfected a robust, industrial-scale, continuous process for producing solar PV modules at a cost below $1/watt, significantly reducing the cost of generating solar electricity. For additional information, visit www.avasolar.com.
For media requests, please contact:
Russell Kanjorski
4557 Denrose Court, Unit B
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: (970)472-1580
Email: rkanjorski@avasolar.com
Fort Collins, Colorado — February 8, 2007 — AVA Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced, low-cost, thin film photovoltaic modules, announced today that it closed on its first round of funding. Incorporated in January, AVA Solar took just weeks to raise this round. Investors include new board members John Hill and Doug Schatz.
John Hill, chairman of the board of AVA Solar, founded Hill Carmen Ventures, the first major venture capital firm in the Rocky Mountain region and one of the top-performing funds in the industry. Mr. Hill has served on the boards of numerous companies, both public and private, including the National Venture Capital Association.
Doug Schatz is the founder, Chairman and former CEO of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASD: AEIS), headquartered in Fort Collins, CO. Advanced Energy engages in the design, manufacture, and support of power conversion and control systems, and gas flow control devices used in plasma-based thin-film processing equipment.
"AVA Solar is the most exciting startup I've been a part of in almost 30 years of investing in technology-based companies," said John Hill. "The solar energy market is growing rapidly, and AVA Solar's technology lowers the cost to a price point where it will be economically viable without subsidies in many markets around the world."
"I'm very impressed with the technical team and how far they have taken the technology with so little resources to this point," said Doug Schatz. "The process has been developed to scale easily and be very robust. The funds provided in this round will be enough to fund AVA's initial 3 megawatt pilot production line. When that is complete at the end of the year, the company should be ready to move into very large-scale production."
"We are very fortunate to have attracted some of the savviest investors and leading business minds in Northern Colorado. With their support, our path to full-scale production is clear," said Pascal Noronha, Ph.D., CEO of AVA Solar. "In particular, I look forward to John and Doug's support and guidance from their position on our board."
About AVA Solar
AVA Solar, Inc. was founded in 2007 to commercialize an advanced process for manufacturing cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules. Built upon 15 years of development at Colorado State University's Material Engineering Laboratory, AVA Solar has perfected a robust, industrial-scale, continuous process for producing solar PV modules at a cost below $1/watt, significantly reducing the cost of generating solar electricity. For additional information, visit www.avasolar.com.
For media requests, please contact:
Russell Kanjorski
4557 Denrose Court, Unit B
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: (970)472-1580
Email: rkanjorski@avasolar.com