1366 Adds to Executive Team and Forms Scientific Advisory Board as Company Shifts Focus to Commercial Manufacturing
07 March 2015 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Co-founder and CTO Emanuel “Ely” Sachs
Transitions to New Role as Scientific Advisory Board Chair; Bruce
Sohn Joins Board of Directors; and Photovoltaics Industry Veteran
Dr. Rob Steeman Signs-On to Engineering Team
1366 Technologies today announced a series of personnel changes
that underscore its planned shift in focus from technology
development to full production and manufacturing. The company has
formed a Scientific Advisory Board to be led by co-founder Dr.
Emanuel “Ely” Sachs, who is transitioning out of his role as Chief
Technology Officer. The company has also added former First Solar
President Bruce Sohn to its Board of Directors and appointed
photovoltaics veteran Dr. Rob Steeman as its Director of Cell
Technology. The new executive talent and the formation of the
Scientific Advisory Board strengthen 1366’s position as its Direct
Wafer® technology moves into the final stages of development and
the company readies to build out its 250 MW manufacturing
facility.
“The 1366 team is at an important juncture and rapidly moving
toward commercial production. We now have a manufacturing hub,
consisting of fully-automated Direct Wafer machines, up and
running,” said Frank van Mierlo, CEO, 1366 Technologies. “These
additions to the team, and the new roles created, will undoubtedly
help us deliver against the promise made possible by Ely’s vision –
a uniformly better multi-crystalline wafer at one-half the
cost.”
In his new role as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, Dr.
Sachs will help to guide the innovative vision and technical
direction of the company, building on the strong foundation he
helped to establish. “We are incredibly grateful for Ely’s
contributions these past seven years. So much of our technical
success can be attributed to his brilliance and drive,” continued
van Mierlo. “Ely has put in place a world-class team, which will
continue to carry the mission forward.”
Bruce Sohn joins 1366 as a member of its Board of Directors. Mr.
Sohn is the former President of First Solar, and it was under his
leadership that the company became the largest photovoltaic module
manufacturer and builder of utility scale solar power plants in the
world. Prior to First Solar, Mr. Sohn spent 24 years at Intel
Corporation where he played a leadership role in developing and
manufacturing leading-edge semiconductor technology and was a
primary developer of Copy Exactly!
1366 Technologies has also appointed photovoltaics veteran Dr.
Rob Steeman as its Director of Cell Technology. Dr. Steeman has
spent nearly 25 years performing and managing research and
development activities related to photovoltaics and solar cells at
The Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, Shell Solar and,
most recently, REC Solar. Dr. Steeman was responsible for process
and equipment engineering of REC’s cell production lines in
Singapore, and more recently for REC’s technology strategy, as well
as IP, technology benchmarking and technology surveillance. Dr.
Steeman will work closely with 1366’s VP of Manufacturing, Brian
Eller, to transfer processes from the Bedford pilot facility to the
new factory.
“Bruce’s and Rob’s deep experience, talent and manufacturing
acumen will be extremely valuable as we execute against the
manufacturing plan and enter this next growth stage,” continued van
Mierlo.
About 1366 Technologies
1366 Technologies aims to deliver solar at the cost of coal. The
company combines breakthrough technology innovations with lean
manufacturing processes to make a new class of silicon wafers, the
building blocks of solar cells, at a fraction of today’s cost.
Developed by a veteran team of scientists, engineers and
entrepreneurs, the company’s novel approach breaks the historic
efficiency and cost tradeoffs of photovoltaics. 1366 Technologies
is headquartered in Bedford, MA. For more information, please
visit www.1366tech.com.
For 1366 TechnologiesLaureen Sanderson,
617-694-7336lsanderson@tieronepr.com