NexWafe Raises €10 Million For Production Activities

• NexWafe has raised €10 million from existing and new shareholders in the form of capital raise
• Proceeds will support the company's efforts to further industrialize its trademarked EpiNex green high-efficiency solar wafer technology, and begin its pilot manufacturing activities
• Funding has come from investors as Fraunhofer, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, GAP Technology Holding, Lynwood Schweiz AG and Bantina Invest Limited
• Peter Pauli has stepped down as board chairman to be succeeded by Bart Markus

A spin-off of German technology research center, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE), NexWafe GmbH has completed a €10 million capital raise through new and existing shareholders. It plans to use proceeds for further industrialization of its trademarked EpiNex green high-efficiency solar wafer technology and begin its pilot manufacturing activities.

This round of capital raise had investors as Fraunhofer, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, GAP Technology Holding, Lynwood Schweiz AG and Bantina Invest Limited. NexWafe is already exploring and has intensified discussions with potential partners to commercialize the technology under its CEO Davor Sutija appointed in September 2020.

In another news from the spin-off, former CEO of Meyer Burger, Peter Pauli who joined NexWafe as board chairman in November 2018 will step down to devote time to other commitments (see Peter Pauli Joins NexWafe). He will continue to remain on board as a shareholder in the company. He will be succeeded by Bart Markus who has been on the company's Board of Directors since 2019 and has been a serial entrepreneur.

"Now, with this new funding and our new CEO in place, we will be able to take the company to the next level both in technology readiness with the pilot line as well as in commercialization of the technology," said Markus.

Background

NexWafe was spun out to bring Fraunhofer ISE's kerfless EpiWafer technology to the market and its rapid commercialization. For the EpiWafer technology, a thick crystalline silicon layer is epitaxially deposited and later detached after growth to produce freestanding wafer of standard thickness. NexWafe is to present EpiWafer as a direct substitute for conventional n- or p-doped silicon monocrystalline wafers.

In February 2019, German impact investor Wermuth Asset Management doubled its investment in NexWafe with a 2^nd funding round to enable commissioning of the latter's pilot line in Freiburg, Germany (see More Funding For NexWafe From Existing Investor).