Solar Energy's HelioVolt Short-Listed as a Finalist for the ''Red Herring 100 North America'' Awards; The Most-Promising Technology Ventures Will Be Honored at the Red Herring Spring 2006 CEO Summit.

AUSTIN, Texas -- HelioVolt Corporation announced today that Red Herring has named the thin-film solar technology company one of the top 200 contenders for its annual "Red Herring 100 North America" list. HelioVolt achieved finalist status amid a competitive applicant pool of well over 1,000 privately held technology companies that submitted for this year's edition of the prestigious award. As one of the finalists, Dr. B.J. Stanbery, CEO and President of HelioVolt, will join the exclusive Red Herring Spring 2006 CEO summit, May 23-25 in Monterey, California, where the technology industry's most-innovative CEOs, venture financiers, and corporate strategists will gather to meet this next wave of disruptive companies.

"We can see the resurgence of the tech sector reflected in the quantity and variety of excellent companies that we had to chose from in putting our list together," said Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring. "It was difficult to choose the 200 finalists and we are very happy with the stellar quality of the companies on this short-list."

"Given the competitive climate surrounding clean energy in general and the busy solar energy market in particular, I am particularly pleased that Red Herring has identified HelioVolt as one of the leading new businesses in the industry, a testament to our distinctive technology approach and path to market," said Dr. Stanbery. "This honor follows on what has been a momentous year for HelioVolt. In the past 12 months, we have completed a successful first round of venture funding, grown the company to 11 employees, and established a new R&D and manufacturing facility that we are currently gearing up to deliver our first commercial product."

In a departure from conventional silicon-based solar panels, HelioVolt has invented the fastest and most efficient way to manufacture photovoltaic platforms surfaced with CIGS, the most reliable and best-performing thin film material for generating electricity from sunlight. The company's patented FASST(TM) technology can incorporate attractive, high-performance CIGS coatings in custom shapes, sizes, and tints into glass, steel, metal and polymers. Applying the combined capabilities of CIGS material and its FASST manufacturing technology, HelioVolt is creating construction materials that transform building exteriors into solar electricity generating systems.

The "Red Herring 100 North America" award is an important part of Red Herring's tradition of recognizing new and innovative technology firms and their entrepreneurial founders. HelioVolt and the other nominees were rigidly evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their ecosystem. This unique assessment of potential complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company allows Red Herring to see past the "buzz" and make the list an invaluable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.

As part of this tradition to honor innovation and entrepreneurship in the business of technology, Red Herring will again host "Red Herring Spring," a two day invitation-only summit for the CEOs and founders of the Red Herring 100 winners and finalists in Monterey, California. The summit's C-level attendees will convene under the theme "The Pursuit of Disruption" to discuss major trends and opportunities and to explore partnerships, alliances, investments, and M&A activities. Further information regarding the event and how to register is available at http://www.herringevents.com/rhspring06.

About HelioVolt

HelioVolt Corporation was founded in 2001 in order to develop and market new technology for applying thin-film photovoltaic coatings to conventional construction materials. The company's proprietary FASST(TM) process, based on rapid semiconductor printing, was invented by HelioVolt founder Dr. Billy J. Stanbery, an eminent expert within the international PV community in the materials science of CIS and related compound semiconductors. FASST(TM) is a low-cost, flexible manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis and is protected by eight issued US patents with three additional applications pending, and in addition to numerous foreign patents and applications. For additional information, visit www.heliovolt.com.

About Red Herring

Red Herring is a sophisticated insider's guide to the business of technology, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy, from the Internet to wireless communications and digital entertainment. Red Herring reports on how innovation and entrepreneurship are transforming business and how the business of technology is transforming the world, providing readers with a deep understanding of venture capital and capital markets. Recognized as an essential resource in today's fast-changing business world, Red Herring gets the right answers before anyone else even thinks to ask the questions. More information on Red Herring is available on the Internet at www.redherring.com.