Solar panel firm appears to have halted operations
A Calgary technology company that marketed golf cart and scooter applications of its spray- on solar panels at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January appears to have suddenly ceased operations.
Calls to the Calgary and United Kingdom offices of QSolar Ltd. went unanswered Tuesday and the company did not respond to emails or voice messages.
On Monday afternoon, the Alberta Securities Commission issued a news release saying the stock had been cease- traded because it “failed to disclose, in accordance with Alberta securities laws, that its entire board of directors and all executive officers had resigned, and that it had discontinued its operations.”
On its website, the Canadian Securities Exchange indicates QSolar was “in default of CSE requirements” and ordered its shares halted from trading as of March 23. The Frankfurt Securities Exchange website shows QSolar’s shares were also halted from trading there as of March 20.
According to its website, QSolar was founded in 2007 in the U. K. by CEO Andreas Tapakoudes. Its headquarters are in Centennial Place in downtown Calgary and it has offices in London and manufacturing operations in Shanghai, China.
The company says it manufactures solar photovoltaic panels using its “proprietary trade secret” Spraytek and ESS process, listing benefits that include lower losses in hot climates, superior solar cell encapsulation, significant weight savings and better durability.
The latest news release on its website, however, dated Feb. 20, indicates the company had failed to raise capital it needed to execute its business plan and said it had scaled down the Shanghai plant to “minimum operating levels” and had “reduced and deferred corporate overheads.” It said obtaining certification for its products was taking more time than expected.
It said its business plan was also threatened by tariffs and antidumping duties imposed by the European Union and, more recently, by the United States on Chinese solar panel imports.
“QSolar has been advised that these ( U. S.) duties amount to combined tariff rate of over 200 per cent on all Chinese- based solar shipments and includes all QSolar’s intransit or landed solar shipments to the U. S.,” it stated, adding the only viable alternative was to manufacture its products in the U. S.
In a November regulatory filing, QSolar reported its panels performed well in a desert solar power pilot project in Dubai. It added it had high hopes for sales of a solar golf cart accessory kit it had introduced in July after months of testing in Arizona — the product was designed to complement electric outlet charging of golf cart batteries.
It reported attempting to raise $ 4 million last fall by selling debentures and units, but withdrew both offers due to lack of interest in the market.
In its last financial report, QSolar noted a nine- month loss of $ 2.2 million in the period ended Sept. 30, 2014, compared with a loss of $ 4.8 million in the same period of 2013, while sales rose to $ 1.7 million from $ 272,000. It said it had adjusted working capital of $ 1.4 million, with a cash balance of $ 71,000.
Qsolar tried to raise $ 4 million last fall, but withdrew the offer due to lack of interest in the market