Ascent Solar and FTL Solar Sign Multi-Million Dollar Strategic Alliance Supply Agreement
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. a developer of flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, today announced that it has signed a strategic supply agreement with FTL Solar, LLC, a world leader in lightweight solar structures and products headquartered in Austin, Texas. The agreement includes a minimum purchase commitment of $6.5 million over a three year period.
FTL Solar CEO Tony Saxton, stated, "We are pleased to announce that FTL Solar is a US distributor for Ascent's light weight photovoltaic (PV) modules for fabric awnings, airbeams, tents, tensile structures, sailboat sails, tarps and umbrellas. Integrated with Ascent's high output lightweight flexible modules, FTL Solar's products are the optimal means for capturing electricity from sunlight, as well as providing second functions such as shelter. We have hit the market with FTL Solar's PowerMod(TM) tents with Ascent Solar PV modules 'outside' for military and tent rental industry sales, and with FTL Solar's PowerFold(TM) hand-held battery chargers for military and consumer sales. We see this as the beginning of an epochal change across all of the fabric structure industries. We envision that the fabric structure industry is going to become renewable electricity providers in the future in addition to being the flexible fabric product providers that they have traditionally been."
Under the terms of the agreement, FTL Solar has committed to minimum purchases of $6.5 million of high efficiency flexible CIGS photovoltaic two meter and premier modules during the three year contract period. Ascent Solar is scheduled to begin shipments to FTL Solar for market seeding of emerging market opportunities with their lightweight solar integrated tensile fabric product line. This specialty product line is intended to serve defense/disaster relief and the portable power segments that include awnings, fabric airbeams, fabric automobile covers, sailboat sails, tarps, tents, and umbrellas.
Ascent Solar President and CEO Farhad Moghadam added, "FTL Solar has designed a world class lightweight solar integrated tensile fabric product line. This contract represents sales velocity for specialty products that require certain customization and affirms our ability to demonstrate our breadth of integration. Ascent's recent product certification under MIL-STD 810G for defense applications has opened up market potential in the emerging defense/disaster relief opportunity with fabric integrated portable solar applications for both tent and personal portable power integration. FTL Solar is at the forefront of changing the way solar can be utilized on a daily basis by defense, disaster relief agencies and consumers alike. Enabling products to be integrated with our unique lightweight CIGS photovoltaic modules is the foundation of Ascent's market penetration of specialty products."
