June 24, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=ftrdnwswnd for all of today’s featured news.) — Natcore Technology Inc. (TSX Venture: NXT) (OTC: NTCXF) said it has completed an agreement with a Chinese consortium forming a joint venture to develop and produce film-growth equipment and materials that the company claims could significantly lower the cost of manufacturing solar cells.

At the center of the joint venture is Natcore Technology's patented liquid phase deposition technology, licensed from Rice University, where it was developed. LPD grows an anti-reflective film on a substrate in a room-temperature chemical bath, potentially making solar cells significantly cheaper and cleaner to produce, according to Natcore.

Existing technology uses a high-temperature vacuum furnace to grow the coating, requiring much more energy in the process and much more silicon to achieve the thickness needed to withstand the firing.

The new company, "Natcore China," is a joint venture between Natcore Technology, the Zhuzhou hi-tech industrial development zone, a government-supported zone in Hunan province, and Chuangke Silicon, a polycrystalline silicon producer. Natcore China will be 55% owned by Natcore Technology, with its partners holding the remaining 45%. The agreement is subject to approval by the Toronto Venture Exchange.

Under this agreement, Natcore China will have a life span of at least 20 years It will have exclusive rights in perpetuity to develop and manufacture the AR coating equipment used in this technology, so long as it meets specified pricing and quality control standards, and to sell it to solar cell producers in China.

Natcore China will also have exclusive rights for a period of five years to develop and manufacture this equipment for sale anywhere in the world. The solar cell producers that buy this equipment may sell their output anywhere in the world.

Natcore Technology retains the unrestricted rights to license their LPD technology for all other applications.

Natcore China will be funded by an initial $3 million investment consisting of US$500,000 contributed by Natcore Technology, and US$2,500,000 contributed by the Chinese Partnership.

The JV expects that first product shipments will be made within 10 months.

New Jersey-based Natcore Technology is the exclusive licensee, from Rice University, of a new thin-film growth technology.

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