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June 2010

Whitfield Solar Limited Announces sale of 2.64kW CPV Rooftop Installation to ISFOC, Spain

Whitfield Solar is delighted to announce that the Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentracion,SA ("ISFOC") has purchased a 2.64kW Whitfield Solar rooftop installation for its headquarters building in Puertollano, Spain.

ISFOC’s activities are focused on measurement technologies, maintenance and recycling plants, solar irradiation analysis and improvement of CPV plants. Additionally, ISFOC provides training and consultancy services issuing reports on CPV technologies and components.

Stephen Bates, CEO of Whitfield Solar, said: “We are delighted that ISFOC have placed this order as they recognise that our approach to concentrated photovoltaics is highly scalable – high performance, yet cost effective – and suitable for rooftop installation to boot. We are delighted to be shipping product and look forward to adding to our customer base in a number of continents over the coming weeks and months”.

Pedro Banda, Director General at ISFOC, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to showcase Whitfield Solar at our headquarters. CPV has great potential for utilising commercial rooftop space – and we look forward to leading by example with Whitfield Solar WS-Si24 solar concentrators installed on our own buildings”.

August 2009

Whitfield closes $2.2m interim funding round

Following good progress towards commercialisation of its two-axis solar photovoltaic concentrator, Whitfield Solar received investment from a new investor consortium in August 2009. The round, totalling £1.4 million, was supported by existing shareholders. Whitfield Solar will be launching its most recent factory-produced concentrator units at the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Exhibition (PVSEC) in Hamburg, Germany, from 21-24 September 2009

May 2009

Whitfield sign manufacturing agreement with Cobo SpA

In line with Whitfield’s strategy of developing solar products that can be manufactured in existing factories, Whitfield today signed an agreement with automotive 1st tier Cobo SpA near Milan, Italy. Whitfield and Cobo have been collaborating for several months and have now cemented the relationship which secures Cobo’s reputation for manufacturing excellence as part of Whitfield’s launch.

Serving the majority of launch markets from their Italian manufacturing base, Cobo has international operations which offer Whitfield a route to further geographical expansion in the future.

Stephen Bates, CEO of Whitfield Solar said, “We have been very fortunate to identify a manufacturing partner that not only displays all the skills and experience our product requires but also shares our vision for extending the existing automotive supply chain into the solar market”.

Wolfango Cozzi, CEO of Cobo SpA said, “It has been exciting for us to work alongside such an innovative company and to recognise how much of our existing capability is highly-valued in this emerging market”

Whitfield’s pre-production product has already been installed and tested in southern Spain with first customer deliveries expected from the new line in late 2009. Although sales have already begun in Spain, Whitfield’s launch market, the product will be formally announced at the PVSEC show in Hamburg in September. Production units will be on the stand.

April 2009

Whitfield appoints senior team members in production, test and installation

Whitfield continues to build its team in Reading, UK with the appointment of three additional engineers.

Michael Ziloudis joins from an established solar installations business and bring not only his experience of the established PV market but also a specific insight into the emerging market for solar PV in Greece. Michael will provide the key link to Whitfield chosen installation partners and help to support the sales team.

Ian Clark adds further depth to the organisation’s automotive industry background and brings a wealth of test experience from organisations such as Prodrive and McLaren. Ian will take charge of the in-house testing function that ensures Whitfield’s product meets all of the appropriate performance and safety standards required.

Jason Callear joins the manufacturing engineering group and will work closely with our chosen manufacturing partner in mainland Europe to develop the production line that will deliver product to customers in Q4 of this year. Jason has an impressive history of achievement at JCB which included an instrumental role in the establishment of a custom diesel engine manufacturing plant.

February 2009

Whitfield Solar Eurpoa SL incorporated in Spain

Whitfield Solar Ltd, based in Reading UK, today announced the incorporation of a wholly owned subsidiary in Spain called Whitfield Solar Europa. Stephen Bates, CEO of the parent company Whitfield Solar Ltd said, “With registered offices in the business district of Madrid, Whitfield Solar Europa is now better placed to develop our commercial interests in Spain and support the customer relationships that we are forming.”

Whitfield has a long history of association with the Spanish market with products on test in Barcelona and Cartegena from 2005 and a new field test site established in 2008 in southern Spain which continues to run long-term, on-sun tests.

January 2009

TÜV validates test results from Spanish pilot plant

Whitfield Solar Ltd is pleased to announce that TÜV has validated the measured performance of its test units in Spain.

The trial was set up in October 2008 to demonstrate the output performance of the units under real-world conditions and was able to show how well the units perform in a range of conditions that included both high ambient temperatures with low wind-speeds – some of the most challenging conditions for conventional PV – and very high wind-speeds that caused substantial damage to a neighbouring PV installation but left Whitfield’s units unaffected.

The validated test report is available to both investors and customers and helps to illustrate the advantages of low-cost CPV over existing PV products.

October 2008

Pre-production units are installed in Spain

Whitfield has completed the installation of a new test site in the south of Spain that will be used for long-term testing of the product under typical operating conditions. The new site adds to the existing facilities in Cyprus and in the UK.

The installed units reflect the pre-production stage of manufacturing and have provided valuable insights and validation to the development team who are focused on delivering the lowest cost product ‘fully-installed’ in a market where most suppliers focus on the cost of components. Whitfield believes that its strategy of “works out of the box” is critical to the long-term reduction in the cost of solar power and this installation has helped to underline how straightforward the installation of CPV can be where both the support frame and tracking system are fully integrated at the point of manufacture.

The site will initially be used to run an on-sun trial with results validated by TUV. It will then be used to demonstrate how Whitfield’s product can be installed at any orientation to the compass – a huge advantage in the merging roof-top and car-park markets where the flexibility to align a solar PV product to the existing layout brings further cost savings and increased energy-density.

January 2008

Whitfield appoints new CEO and closes further funding round

Whitfield Solar, the developer of low cost solar concentrator technology, has announced Stephen Bates will join as CEO, to help drive forward the company’s strategy for growth and development.

Mr Bates joins from ANGLE plc where he was UK CEO. He has an MBA from Cranfield and has also held senior positions with Sagentia, Arthur D. Little, and Marks and Spencer.

As the announcement is made, Whitfield can reveal it has closed an interim funding round of approximately $2M to enable it to complete its product development, take its solar concentrator through accreditation testing and install a grid-connected demonstration site in Spain.

The equity investment came from existing shareholders Carbon Trust Investments (CTIL) who partnered with new shareholder Kilsby Ltd.

In parallel with the intense product development work planned for 2008, Whitfield will complete its long-term growth plans and return to the investment community in the second half of the year to fund its expansion and diversification.

The company has also made a number of new hires to reinforce its board of directors, project management and engineering resources.

• Ian Collins joins as Project Director from McLaren Automotive
• Chris Lee joins the board as a non-exec director from his role as CEO of MicroGen, the CHP (Combined Heat and Power) spin-out from British Gas.
• Sylvain Chonavel joins Whitfield to head-up the mechanical engineering function from ArvinMeritor

Stephen Bates, CEO said, “It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I take up this role. It is rare that one gets the opportunity to join an organisation with such potential and where the proposition is so close to market. Now we have our team in place, I am looking forward to a year of rapid progress, growth and engineering excellence”

Jonathan Bryers, Investment Partner at Carbon Trust Investments, said, “We are delighted at the calibre of the commercial and product development team that is now in place at Whitfield to take their low cost solar concentrator product to market. We believe the market will increasingly focus on cost and simplicity within the solar sector and Whitfield is well placed to exploit this opportunity.