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AKC News Ascent Solar Selects Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers

LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) (BSX: AKC) announced today that it has finalized the selection of manufacturing equipment suppliers that will supply the roll-to-roll manufacturing process tools for the production of its thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules on plastic substrate.

Ascent Solar is currently building a 1.5 megawatt (MW) production plant for its large roll format modules. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2007. Ascent Solar originally had intended that ITN Energy Systems would design and build the 1.5 MW production plant. However, to support Ascent Solar’s recent decision to incrementally increase manufacturing capacity to 100 MW levels beginning 2010, Ascent has selected a group of manufacturing equipment suppliers with expertise in the area of roll-to-roll processing of thin films on plastic substrates to accelerate Ascent Solar’s large volume manufacturing plans. The group includes:

• General Vacuum Equipment, United Kingdom
• Stangl Semiconductor Equipment AG, Germany
• Hiranokohnon, Japan
• ITN Energy Systems, Inc., USA

The companies were selected based on their unique and extensive history and expertise in developing world-class manufacturing equipment for the roll-to-roll processing of thin films onto plastic substrates. Ascent Solar and ITN Energy Systems will implement the specific CIGS thin-film processing know-how, including engineering specifications, proprietary process recipes, proprietary intelligent process controls, and proprietary deposition source designs into the supplied equipment to ensure the integrity of the Ascent Solar intellectual property and technology platform.

Ascent Solar Sr. Vice President of Manufacturing Dr. Prem Nath stated, “We are pleased to partner with companies that are the best in the world at what they do. Many of the systems they currently manufacture are already capable of the large one-meter-wide processing widths we ultimately plan to deploy at the 100 MW level and above. These long-term relationships with established performers should make our transition to large volume production significantly easier.”

Ascent Solar Chairman and ITN Energy Systems President and CEO Dr. Mohan Misra stated, “The strategic decision to form these manufacturing equipment supplier relationships now in support of our 1.5 MW plant is key to our accelerated pathway to 100 MW production levels. We are able to provide our equipment expertise in thin-film photovoltaic processing to these large equipment manufacturers now, which will enable them to accelerate deliveries of the equipment necessary for 100 MW plants and potentially plants as large as 1 Gigawatt in the future.”

The manufacturing tools for the 1.5 MW plant are scheduled to begin arriving in 3^rd quarter of 2007 and all tools should be in place by year end to support plans for initial production in early 2008.

About Ascent Solar Technologies:

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a developer of state-of-the-art, thin-film photovoltaic materials and modules and is located in Littleton, Colorado. Please visit our website for additional information at www.ascentsolar.com.

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expresses or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with Securities and Exchange Commission.