Leoni is the Latest Member of the Desertec Consortium

Enrichment of this industry initiative with an efficiency-enhancing portfolio of products and services for solar thermal and photovoltaic plant

NUREMBERG, Germany & TUNIS, Tunisia - Wednesday, July 4th 2012 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leoni has today joined the Desertec consortium as an associated partner. The Company is thus part of the industrial initiative Dii and its international business network, which wants to realise the Desertec vision. Dii is working towards the creation of a market for desert power to supply North Africa, the Middle East and Europe (EUMENA region) with clean energy. As a leading supplier of cables and cable systems, Leoni will contribute products and services to the Dii that help raise the efficiency of solar thermal and photovoltaic power plants.

“We are pleased that Leoni as the biggest employer in Tunisia is a new associated partner of our initiative,” Paul von Son, Managing Director of the Dii, emphasized. “The Company can make a valuable contribution to reducing the power plants’ construction cost.” The objective is to set up a sustainable, reliable and affordable electricity supply system based on renewable energy for the EUMENA region.

“Leoni has more than three decades of experience with its facilities in North Africa and currently employs about 25,000 people in the region. It is not least for this reason that we are certain that we can make a rewarding contribution to the Desertec project,” said Dr Klaus Probst, Chairman and CEO of Leoni AG.

75 per cent less installation cost

The Group provides power and control cables to suit all types of renewable energy generation. Leoni has recently begun to supply solar thermal plants – mostly with assembled cable systems. Their big advantage is that they are plug-and-play capable. Because they are industrially pre-assembled, they can be rapidly installed without involving any experts. That pays off. Firstly, it only takes up half as much time to trim, cut and fit the cables with connectors in the factory than in the usually uncomfortable surroundings of a solar power plant field. Secondly, labour costs are lower in a factory than in field installation. Overall, assembly and installation costs are reduced by about 75 per cent.

Leoni also has a wide range of products available for photovoltaic plants; from solar flat wires for linking individual module cells and strings, junction boxes for complete panels and through to installation cables for connecting the panels with inverters.

For related imagery see www.media.leoni.com

About Leoni

Leoni produces technically sophisticated products from single-core automotive cables through to complete wiring systems. The product range also comprises wires and strands, standardised and special cables as well as cable system assemblies for various industrial markets. Leoni employs about 63,000 people in 31 countries and generated consolidated sales of EUR 3.7 billion in 2011.

Contacts

LEONI AG

Sven Schmidt

Corporate Public & Media Relations

 +49 (0)911-2023-467

 presse@leoni.com