Konarka receives investment of $20 million for joint venture agreement

Konarka, a US developer of solar power plastic films, has received $20 million from Konica Minolta after signing a joint venture agreement. The companies have joined forces to develop and distribute the next generation of organic thin-film photovoltaics.

"Konica Minolta positions the organic thin-film photovoltaic business as one of the most promising in the environment and energy field, next to the organic light emitting diode (OLED) business, where our photographic film manufacturing technology is leading mass production," said Masatoshi Matsuzaki, CEO at Konica Minolta in an announcement earlier this week.

The companies will work together to mass produce the organic photovoltaic panels from a joint venture facility in Japan. Konica Minolta will be Konarka´s lead Asian business partner headquartered there.

Konarka´s Power Plastic technology is lightweight, flexible, scalable and adaptable for use in a variety of commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A. the company has a full scale production manufacturing facility in New Bedford, Mass. Their European headquarters are based in Nurnberg, Germany with business development offices in Asia and a research and development facility in Austria.