+ 23.09.2009 + This year's SolarWorld Einstein Award goes to Dr. Rupert Neudeck, the founder of 'Cap Anamour' and the head of the aid organization 'Grünhelme' (green helmets).

This is the fifth time in succession that the SolarWorld Group awards this prestigious prize to personalities who have rendered great services in the area of photovoltaic technology. The festive award ceremony took place on Monday night in Hamburg on the occasion of the 24th European Photovoltaic Conference. With a vocational school in Ruanda operated exclusively on solar power Neudeck showed that solar power makes possible sustainable development in rural areas. Instead of the prize money the 'Grünhelme' organization will receive a solar power plant for a social station on the Mauritanian coast, which among other things is designed to train solar technicians.

'It is always individuals who start towards new horizons and who move things forward. But it takes many to turn an idea into a worldwide movement. In his many years of dedication and commitment Dr. Rupert Neudeck has triggered such a movement', said the Chairman and CEO Frank H. Asbeck during the award ceremony in the former main customs office in the Port of Hamburg.

Junior Einstein Award goes to young scientist of FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany

During the same ceremony the Junior Einstein Award was also presented for the fourth time. The award winner is the young Dortmund scientist Dr. Thomas Müller. In his thesis the 31-year-old scientific assistant in the FernUniversität in Hagen investigated amorphous silicon layers for surface passivation as well as emitter and rear side coatings on crystalline silicon. 'The work bears witness to a profound understanding of materials and processes. Dr. Thomas Müller pursues several approaches at the same time on the way to developing more efficient solar cells', says the verdict of the Einstein Award jury.

SolarWorld 2009