Solar Sailor receives $1.9M funding to help drive global expansion

PRESS RELEASE
8th August, 2005

Mithril GMBH, a German investment company has made a strategic investment of $1M in Solar Sailor Holdings Ltd of Sydney, Australia. Solar Sailor is the world leader in Hybrid Marine Power (HMP), a revolutionary technology set to transform the way we travel on water.

Dr Robert Dane, CEO of Solar Sailor and inventor of the HMP & Solar Wing technologies welcomes Hans Martin Weiss, CEO of Mithril to Sydney to celebrate the investment and discuss areas of collaboration.

This follows the investment of $500,000 by Solon AG, Germany’s largest solar panel manufacturers in Solar Sailor announced on 26th May 2005.

The three-way relationship is a perfect fit for all companies involved, sharing a common vision for the growth of solar and its applications around the world.

It enables Solon access and revenue to valuable solar applications - the patented HMP & Solar Wing technology developed by Solar Sailor. Solar Sailor’s hybrid ferries will gain a launch pad into the growing European & Middle East marketplace, while receiving high efficiency solar panels from Solon. Germany in particular, with its many waterways and environmentally-friendly energy laws is a key target for Solar Sailor.

The funding allows Solar Sailor to expand its US subsidiary company UOV LLC (uovehichles.com) based in Virginia which has recently received a Phase 1 US Navy grant for the development of it’s patented unmanned ocean vehicles (UOV’s). The automated and networked UOV’s will be used for military and coast guard purposes, and have commercial and oceanographic applications including tsunami early warning systems.
 
Solar Sailor is meanwhile vigorously pursuing commercial ferry opportunities in Australia, China & the USA with several large tenders due for announcement in the coming months.

Solar Sailor’s HMP technologies are suitable for a wide range of marine applications from small, unmanned vessels to large tankers, including ferries, tourist cruisers and private yachts.

Top | Back to Newsroom