ECD Ovonics Announces Agreement for a Joint Venture Between United Solar Ovonic and Tianjin Jinneng Investment Company in China for Assembly of Thin-Film Solar Modules

ECD Ovonics Announces Agreement for a Joint Venture Between United Solar Ovonic and Tianjin Jinneng Investment Company in China for Assembly of Thin-Film Solar Modules

February 09, 2007

Joint Venture Will Accelerate Cost Reduction Initiatives
Through the Establishment of Module Assembly Facilities in
China


    ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. and TIANJIN, China, Feb. 9
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD
Ovonics) (Nasdaq: ENER) today announced that United Solar
Ovonic, its wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into an
agreement to form a joint venture with Tianjin Jinneng
Investment Company (TJIC) to establish a 30-megawatt (MW)
photovoltaic (PV) module assembly facility in Tianjin, the
People's Republic of China.

    The joint venture, to be owned 75% by United Solar
Ovonic and 25% by TJIC, will assemble solar modules using
solar cells supplied by United Solar Ovonic's
Michigan-based photovoltaic cell manufacturing facilities
and is expected to begin operation in 2008.  The joint
venture will have nonexclusive rights to sell PV modules
and systems in China.  Sales outside China will be through
United Solar Ovonic.  The joint venture will also have
certain rights to sell small products up to 32 watts
outside of China.

    The parties anticipate that the module assembly
equipment will be installed in mid-2008.  United Solar
Ovonic and ECD Ovonics personnel will supervise the
installation of equipment and provide assistance and
training during the startup phase of the joint venture.

    The agreement is subject to the approval of Chinese
authorities. 
    
    United Solar Ovonic's parent company, ECD Ovonics,
recently accompanied U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M.
Gutierrez on a Business Development Mission to China, and
credits its participation in that mission as being
instrumental in leading to the joint venture. 
 
    "China is a key market for American businesses,
and I am pleased that United Solar Ovonic has formed a
joint venture agreement with TJIC to establish a solar
module assembly facility in China," said Commerce
Secretary Gutierrez.  "This unique alliance will
encourage export of solar cells manufactured in the U.S.
creating jobs for American workers, and is a tangible
result from our trade mission last November.  The trading
relationship between U.S. businesses and Chinese companies
is critical for both countries' continued economic
success."

    In a joint statement, James R. Metzger, Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer of ECD Ovonics, and
Subhendu Guha, President and Chief Operating Officer of
United Solar Ovonic, said, "The significance of this
joint venture to us is two-fold.  First, it provides us
with a vehicle to access the rapidly expanding Chinese
market, and second, it accelerates our cost-reduction
initiatives through the establishment of assembly
facilities in China, tapping the highly skilled and
low-cost labor.  We have been active in China for several
years and are pleased to expand our activities and
establish our first solar module assembly facility in China
with TJIC, which has extensive knowledge and operating
experience in the business environment in the Chinese
market."

    "We are very pleased to have formed this joint
venture with United Solar Ovonic, the leader in thin-film
photovoltaic products and technology and look forward to a
long and fruitful collaboration with our joint venture
partner," said Yun Shang Tong, General Manager of
TJIC.  "The renewable energy laws passed by the
Chinese Government envision 10% of total power from
renewable energy by 2020.  TJIC has over 5 gigawatts of
installed electrical generating capacity using traditional
energy, and we look forward to our joint venture becoming a
leading supplier of clean energy in China using United Solar
Ovonic's unique flexible thin-film PV modules."

    United Solar Ovonic currently has 58MW of annual
production capacity, which includes the new 30MW per annum
Auburn Hills 2 manufacturing facility the company placed in
service in December 2006.  United Solar Ovonic is also
constructing two 60MW per annum PV cell manufacturing
facilities in Greenville, Mich., which are expected to
begin operation in late 2007 and mid-2008.  The company's
expansion plan will increase United Solar Ovonic's
manufacturing capacity to 118MW, 178MW and over 300MW per
annum by the end of calendar years 2007, 2008 and 2010,
respectively.  

    About United Solar Ovonic

    United Solar Ovonic, building on technology invented
and pioneered by ECD Ovonics, is the world leader in
thin-film amorphous photovoltaics.  Because of
characteristics unique to the United Solar Ovonic solar
cell technology, such as lightweight, ruggedness and
flexibility, it is ideal as building-integrated
photovoltaic roofing systems for residential and industrial
customers.  ECD Ovonics holds the basic patents covering the
continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing of thin-film
amorphous-silicon alloy multi-junction solar cells and
related products.  More information is available at
http://www.uni-solar.com .

    About Tianjin Jinneng Investment Company  

    Tianjin Jinneng Investment Company (TJIC) is engaged in
the investment and business management for power, thermal
energy and renewable energy.  It has grown significantly in
the last 10 years with its assets exceeding RMB 23.5 billion
Yuans and has been a China Fortune 500 company for the last
three years.  With its focus on the energy sector, Tianjin
has 5.6 gigawatts of installed capacity catering to 83% of
the electrical needs for the City of Tianjin, the third
largest city in China after Beijing and Shanghai.  It has
been recognized as one of "the 100 super enterprises
of Tianjin" from 2003 to 2006.

    About ECD Ovonics	

    ECD Ovonics is the leader in the synthesis of new
materials and the development of advanced production
technology and innovative products.  It has invented,
pioneered and developed its proprietary, enabling
technologies in the fields of energy and information
leading to new products and production processes based on
amorphous, disordered and related materials.  The Company's
portfolio of alternative energy solutions includes Ovonic
thin-film amorphous solar cells, modules, panels and
systems for generating solar electric power; Ovonic NiMH
batteries; Ovonic hydride storage materials capable of
storing hydrogen in the solid state for use as a feedstock
for fuel cells or internal combustion engines or as an
enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon
fuel; and Ovonic fuel cell technology.  ECD Ovonics'
proprietary advanced information technologies include
Ovonic phase-change electrical memory, Ovonic phase-change
optical memory and the Ovonic Threshold Switch.  ECD
Ovonics designs and builds manufacturing machinery that
incorporates its proprietary production processes,
maintains ongoing research and development programs to
continually improve its products and develops new
applications for its technologies.  ECD Ovonics holds the
basic patents in its fields.  For more information about
ECD Ovonics visit http://www.ovonic.com 

    This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which
ECD Ovonics, as of the date of this release, believes to be
reasonable and appropriate.  ECD Ovonics cautions, however,
that the actual facts and conditions that may exist in the
future could vary materially from the assumed facts and
conditions upon which such forward-looking statements are
based.  The risk factors identified in the ECD Ovonics
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K, could impact any forward-looking statements contained
in this release.


    For more information, please contact:

     Ghazaleh Koefod, investor relations
     Dick Thompson, media relations, 
     Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
     Tel:   [phone] 


SOURCE  ECD Ovonics