SCHOTT and WACKER lay the cornerstone for new solar wafer production plant in Jena

Joint Press Release Issued by WACKER and SCHOTT - WACKER SCHOTT SOLAR
will produce multicrystalline silicon wafers for solar cells -
Investment of approx. EUR50 million initially creates 140 new jobs at
the Jena site - New production facility expected to reach a capacity
of 100 megawatts already by the end of 2008

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companies

Jena (euro adhoc) - October 29, 2007 - Today, the two German
companies Wacker Chemie AG (Munich) and SCHOTT AG (Mainz) officially
laid the cornerstone for a new silicon solar wafer manufacturing
facility of their joint venture WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH in Jena,
Germany. By April 2008, both partners will be completing stage one of
their joint wafer production facility in Jena with total capital
expenditures of approx. EUR50 million. This move will result in the
initial creation of 140 new jobs at the site. Production capacity is
estimated to reach around 100 megawatts (MW) per year already by the
end of 2008. Wafer fabrication in the new facility will rely on
conventional technology; thus individual wafers are sawed from
multicrystalline silicon ingots. Manufacturing equipment will be
installed in a two-story building with a floorspace of over 7,500m2.

Only a few weeks ago, Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT Solar GmbH, a 100
percent subsidiary of SCHOTT AG, set up two joint ventures to produce
and market silicon wafers to the solar industry. Axel Schmidt from
WACKER and Dr. Patrick Markschläger from SCHOTT are its managing
directors. Over the next few years, WACKER and SCHOTT plan to invest
a combined total of approx. EUR370 million at the sites in Jena
(Thuringia) and Alzenau (Bavaria), thereby creating at least 700 new
jobs. Solar wafer production is set to expand in stages, reaching
about one gigawatt per year by 2012. This will make the joint venture
one of the world´s five largest manufacturers of solar wafers.

As Prof. Udo Ungeheuer, President and CEO of SCHOTT, explained at the
cornerstone laying ceremony: "Our partnership with WACKER is of great
importance to us. Given the current global scarcity of solar silicon,
securing a reliable supply of this raw material is essential to
SCHOTT Solar in order to achieve its ambitious growth targets in the
photovoltaic sector. Together with our current and planned capacity
expansions for solar cells and modules in Alzenau, as well as in the
Czech Republic and in the United States, this joint venture will play
a decisive role in strengthening the position of SCHOTT Solar as one
of the world´s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic solar energy
components. Furthermore, the establishment of the WACKER SCHOTT Solar
joint venture in Jena significantly strengthens this site."

During his speech, Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker, President and CEO of
Wacker Chemie AG, underscored the strategic importance of the joint
venture for the Munich-based chemical group. "Forward integration
into joint production of solar wafers with a strong partner is vital
to our strategy of creating added value in the high-growth
photovoltaic sector. As the world´s second-largest supplier of
polycrystalline silicon and a leader in manufacturing silicon wafers
for the semiconductor industry, we have optimum prerequisites for
successfully establishing this new joint venture within the
marketplace," he said.

WACKER will supply WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH with the hyperpure
polycrystalline silicon needed to produce wafers. The major part of
the joint venture´s wafers will be used by SCHOTT Solar to make solar
cells. At the same time, solar wafers will also be sold to other
solar cell manufacturers in order to capitalize on growth
opportunities and related economies of scale. To this end, SCHOTT and
WACKER have established a separate sales joint venture, WACKER SCHOTT
Solar Vertriebs GmbH.

WACKER and SCHOTT each hold a 50 percent equity stake in the
production joint venture, SCHOTT WACKER Solar GmbH, while WACKER
holds 51 and SCHOTT 49 percent in the sales joint venture. Besides
the new wafer facility in Jena, the manufacturing joint venture also
comprises the existing SCHOTT facilities for producing solar wafers
in Alzenau, as well as those for producing multicrystalline silicon
ingots in Jena.

At the SmartSolarFab® in Alzenau, wafers are manufactured using the
advanced EFG process (Edge defined Film-fed Growth). This method
differs from the conventional approach, where silicon wafers are sawn
from an ingot. Instead, a silicon film in the form of an octagonal
hollow tube is pulled directly from the silicon melt. A laser then
cuts out the wafers.

SCHOTT in Brief SCHOTT (www.schott.com) is an international
technology group that sees its core purpose as the lasting
improvement of living and working conditions. For this purpose
special materials, components and systems are developed. The main
areas of focus are the household appliances industry, optics and
opto-electronics, pharmaceuticals and solar energy. SCHOTT is one of
the world´s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic components. The
SCHOTT Group has a presence in proximity to its customers through its
production and sales companies in all its major markets. It has
approximately 16,800 employees producing worldwide sales of
approximately 2.2 billion euros. The company´s technological and
economic expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological
responsibility.

WACKER in Brief WACKER (www.wacker.com) is a globally active chemical
company headquartered in Munich. With a wide range of
state-of-the-art specialty products, WACKER is a leader in numerous
industrial sectors. Its products are required in many high-growth
end-user sectors such as photovoltaics, electronics, pharmaceuticals
and household/personal care products. The Group´s WACKER POLYSILICON
business division is the world's second-largest producer of hyperpure
polycrystalline silicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaic
industries. In 2006, the WACKER Group posted sales of some EUR3.34
billion, of which approx. 80 percent is generated outside Germany.
WACKER has about 14,700 employees at 22 production sites in Europe,
the Americas and Asia and at some 100 sales offices worldwide. Wacker
Chemie AG´s shares (ISIN: DE000WCH8881) are listed on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on
assumptions and estimates made by the executive boards of WACKER and
SCHOTT. Although we assume the expectations in these forward-looking
statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will prove to be
correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may
cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies
include, among other things, changes in the economic and business
environment, variations in exchange and interest rates, the
introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance for new
products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. Neither
WACKER nor SCHOTT plans to update the forward-looking statements, nor
assumes the obligation to do so.

end of announcement euro adhoc 29.10.2007 09:59:52
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ots Originaltext: Wacker Chemie AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:
Wacker Chemie AG
Media Relations and Information
Christof Bachmair
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 6279-1830
Cell: +49 (0) 151 147 55 442
christof.bachmair@wacker.com

SCHOTT AG
Corporate Public Relations
Klaus Hofmann
Tel. +49 (0) 6131 66-3662
Cell: +49 (0) 175 1816 326
klaus-bernhard.hofmann@schott.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
WKN: WCH888
Index: CDAX, Classic All Share, HDAX, MDAX, Midcap Market Index,
Prime All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / official dealing/prime standard


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