September 18, 2008: Konarka Technologies Inc., a maker of Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, has obtained an exclusive license for a new family of photoactive polymers (polycarbazoles – PCZ) developed by Professor Mario Leclerc, director of the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Research Center of Université Laval (CERSIM) and director of the Quebec Center on Functional Materials (CQMF). Konarka and Université Laval have been collaborating for the past four years.

“It is a great achievement for me and my team to see the results of our work with polycarbazoles transferred into a useful product for the community, especially in the field of renewable energy,” commented Professor Mario Leclerc. “It is rewarding to know that our work can be part of an answer to environmental and energy issues.”

“We recently obtained the exclusive rights to Professor Leclerc’s new polymer family that will allow us to investigate and optimize its potential for increased efficiency in converting light to energy in photovoltaic modules,” commented Russell Gaudiana, VP of research at Konarka. “We expect that this technology will help us maintain our leadership position in organic photovoltaics by accelerating the development, manufacturing and commercialization of our Power Plastic.”

Konarka is focused on developing and advancing nano-enabled polymer photovoltaic materials that are lightweight, flexible and more versatile than traditional solar materials.