AMG subsidiary Timminco and CaliSolar jointly announce solar grade silicon supply agreement

Amsterdam, 16 June 2008 — AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. (“AMG”, EURONEXT AMSTERDAM: “AMG”) announced that its 50.5% subsidiary Timminco Limited (“Timminco”; TSX: TIM) and CaliSolar, Inc., a privately held business based in Sunnyvale, CA (“CaliSolar”), today jointly announced that Timminco’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Bécancour Silicon Inc. (“BSI”), has signed an agreement to supply solar grade silicon, or upgraded metallurgical silicon (“UMG Si”), to CaliSolar. The agreement provides for shipments of approximately 1,700 metric tons through December 2012.  Initial shipments will begin in the third quarter of 2008.

 

“CaliSolar, using BSI’s UMG Si, has made a major breakthrough in photovoltaic (PV) technology,” said Dr. Eicke Weber, a CaliSolar founder and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany. “The impact of UMG Si in this important, rapidly expanding market can hardly be overstated.  By 2015, half of the world’s PV production could be based on the use of UMG Si.”

 

“In their search for a solar grade silicon supplier, CaliSolar has done extensive tests with materials from many UMG Si producers and obtained cell efficiencies over 15% with our product.” said Mr. René Boisvert, President and CEO of BSI. “This agreement to supply CaliSolar is consistent with our strategy of supplying solar grade silicon to companies with the capability to produce solar cells with our material with efficiencies similar to cells produced with polysilicon.”

 

“When CaliSolar was founded two years ago, the mission of the company was to develop specific technologies to make highly efficient solar cells using 100% UMG Si,” said Roy Johnson, CEO of CaliSolar. “This contract with BSI allows CaliSolar to introduce a very competitive product during the third quarter of this year.”

 

“We are thrilled to this expansion of our relationship with Becancour and look forward to continuing to work together to build a very large UMG Si industry,” said Dr. Kamel Ounadjela, COO of CaliSolar.

 

 

AMG, incorporated in the Netherlands, is a global leader in the production of highly engineered specialty metal products and advanced vacuum furnace systems.  AMG serves growing industries worldwide with its unique combination of metallurgical engineering expertise and production know-how.  AMG is a market leader in many of its products and systems, which are critical to the production of key components for the aerospace, energy (including solar and nuclear), electronics, optics, chemicals, construction and transportation industries.  AMG has two operating divisions of businesses, Advanced Materials and Engineering Systems, and owns a majority interest in publicly-listed Timminco Limited (TSX: “TIM”).

 

The Advanced Materials Division develops and produces niche specialty metals and complex metals products, many of which are used in demanding, safety-critical, high-stress environments.  AMG is one of a limited number of significant producers globally of niche specialty metals, such as ferrovanadium, ferronickel-molybdenum, aluminum master alloys and additives, chromium metal and ferrotitanium, used by steel, aluminum, chemical and superalloy producers for aerospace, automotive, energy, electronics, optics, chemicals, construction and other applications.  Other key products produced by AMG include specialty alloys for titanium and superalloys, coating materials, tantalum and niobium oxides, vanadium chemicals and antimony trioxide.

 

The Engineering Systems Division designs, engineers and produces advanced vacuum furnace systems and operates vacuum heat treatment facilities.  AMG is a global leader in supplying technologically-advanced vacuum furnace systems to customers in the aerospace, energy (including solar and nuclear), transportation, electronics, superalloys and specialty steel industries.  Examples of furnace systems produced by AMG include vacuum remelting, solar silicon melting and crystallization, vacuum induction melting, vacuum heat treatment and high pressure gas quenching, vacuum precision casting, turbine blade coating and sintering.  AMG also provides vacuum case-hardening heat treatment services on a tolling basis to customers through facilities equipped with vacuum heat treatment furnaces.

 

Timminco Limited is a majority controlled, publicly-listed subsidiary of AMG. Timminco is a leader in the production of upgraded metallurgical silicon for the rapidly growing solar photovoltaic energy industry. Timminco also produces silicon metal and magnesium products for use in a broad range of industrial applications.

 

AMG operates globally with production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia and also has sales and customer service offices in Belgium, Russia, China and Japan (website: www.amg-nv.com).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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