Press release
Freiburg, Germany, Nov. 27, 2023 – NexWafe GmbH strengthens its management team with the appointment of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Rick Schwerdtfeger and André Seemaier as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). These crucial additions to the executive team occur as NexWafe accelerates its transformation to a commercial scale wafer manufacturing operation, having recently broken ground on its first production facility in Bitterfeld, Germany.
“Rick and André are joining NexWafe at a critical inflection point as the company moves forward with commercialization of our direct gas-to-wafer production process,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe. “I am confident that with Rick on board, NexWafe will establish its place as a leader in the photovoltaic solar wafer manufacturing industry. With André’s experience in growth stage financing, NexWafe is positioned to secure the funding needed to build out our first commercial scale operation, and secure additional strategic partnerships.”
As CTO, Rick will focus on NexWafe’s readiness for wafer production, chart the company’s technology roadmap, and work to attract talent to NexWafe’s product development teams. Rick is a technology leader with more than 25 years of experience in executive management for multiple high growth start-ups. His areas of expertise include solar, photonics and semiconductor technology.
André started his career in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs and previously served as the CFO for a fintech startup. His expertise in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking as well as extensive experience in fundraising and managing financial operations, makes him a vital addition to NexWafe, as the company prepares for its Series D funding round.
“NexWafe is well positioned to revolutionize the solar wafer manufacturing industry by setting new standards in efficiency with the lowest carbon footprint. I am excited to join the team, as we scale to deliver high-performance EpiNex™ wafers, that will accelerate the low-carbon future we all need,” said Rick Schwerdfeger, CTO, NexWafe.
About NexWafe GmbH
NexWafe GmbH designs, develops and is ramping into production a proprietary process to produce ultra-thin, high-efficiency, monocrystalline, low carbon footprint solar wafers to make photovoltaics more sustainable and efficient. Fully compatible with conventional solar cell manufacturing, NexWafe offers a 60 percent reduction in energy consumption during manufacturing. NexWafe’s continuous, direct gas-to-wafer manufacturing process also minimizes waste, resulting in wafers that are less expensive than conventional wafers. NexWafe’s in-line, ultra-scalable process leapfrogs current barriers in the cost reduction roadmap and inherently supports the industry’s extraordinary growth as the transition to solar power accelerates worldwide. The company was spun out from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in 2015 and is a member of the Ultra Low-Carbon Solar Alliance, Solar Power Europe, and the European Solar Manufacturing Council.
For more information, please visit https://www.nexwafe.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact:
Jenna Beaucage/Michelle Allard McMahon
Rainier Communications
nexwafe@rainierco.com
