Seattle, WA, USA -- (Jobwerx) -- Konarka Technoliges announced it has opened a new center of operations in Nuremberg, Germany, to better serve the company's growing European constituencies, including investors and partners.

The new facility, which includes research and development laboratories, enables Konarka to expand its efforts to bring light-activated power plastic to Europe, where the demand for renewable energy technologies is high.

Demand for renewable energy solutions is high in Europe, thanks to aggressive public policy and economic initiatives in many countries. Germany, in particular, is a hotbed for solar technologies and recently became the number one national market in the world for solar. By moving into Nuremberg, the company is taking advantage of the city's focus on the energy market, which makes up nearly one-third of the regional economy.

"For many years now, European countries have been encouraging the success of renewable energy with aggressive public policy and economic initiatives. Germany, in particular, has been at the forefront of implementing solar energy solutions, recently becoming the premier country in the world for solar," said Howard Berke, chairman and chief executive officer, Konarka. "With a significant portion of our venture capital coming from European investors and our longstanding partnerships with leaders such as Siemens and Electricité de France, we are committed to Europe. The new headquarters marks a milestone in our expansion and establishes a central base for maintaining our close relationships and preparing for future growth."

In September 2004, Konarka acquired Siemens' organic photovoltaic research activities, establishing the Company's initial presence in Germany. Leveraging the strong ties of Konarka's German team members to the local energy community, Konarka Technologies GmbH is located in the Energy Technology Center, a business incubator and science research center, in Nuremberg. The energy sector comprises nearly one-third of Nuremberg's regional economy, and the concentration of energy technology, industrial automation and power electronics industries provides a skilled labor pool, making Nuremburg one of Europe's top locations for energy companies.

Konarka is an innovator in developing and commercializing power plastics that convert light to energy.

Konarka has additional research and development subsidiaries in Linz, Austria and Zug, Switzerland. Since its inception, the Company has worked to develop cooperative relationships with Europe's leading institutions for renewable energy, including major corporations, clean energy investors, universities and government agencies.

Konarka builds products that convert light to energy - anywhere. Konarka is the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic products that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka's photovoltaic nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished technical team. Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger (UC Santa Barbara) is a director, co-founder and chief scientist for Konarka. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research and development facilities in Austria and Switzerland.

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