Voltaix Receives $10 Million in Equity Financing from MissionPoint Capital

BRANCHBURG, N.J., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Voltaix, a leading provider of materials that enhance the performance of semiconductor chips and solar cells, announced today that it 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.  

About Voltaix

Voltaix is the world's leading producer of germane, diborane, trisilane, and trimethyl boron - specialty chemicals that enhance the performance and manufacturability of semiconductors and photovoltaics.  Voltaix chemicals enable logic chips to compute more quickly and solar cells to absorb a broader portion of the solar spectrum, and they improve manufacturability by minimizing defect formation and increasing machine throughput.  

Utilizing exceptional expertise in silicon, germanium and boron chemistry, our products are custom designed for the most demanding applications, including:

• Advanced DRAM computer memory
• Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) transistors for wireless communications chips
• Strained silicon for high speed logic computer chips (CPUs)
• Copper-enabling low-K dielectrics for computer chips
• High efficiency thin film silicon solar cells

We use proprietary synthesis, purification, and packaging technology developed in-house.   We also design and build our own equipment for use in our manufacturing operations.  The company, founded in 1986 and privately held, currently employs approximately 100 people at its sites in North Branch, NJ and High Springs, FL.  Voltaix investors include Intel Capital and Novus Energy Partners.  Further information about Voltaix is available at www.voltaix.com.  

About MissionPoint Capital Partners

MissionPoint Capital Partners is a private investment firm focused on financing the global transition to a low-carbon economy. MissionPoint provides growth capital to energy, industrial and financial services companies that enable cleaner, more environmentally-friendly energy, transportation and industrial infrastructure. MissionPoint's portfolio of companies are focused on transforming the way business is conducted in the face of a rising demand for cleaner, more efficient generation and use of energy across all sectors of the global economy. For more information please visit www.missionpointcapital.com.

SOURCE Voltaix