Saule for sale. Will the Armaments Company adopt ultra-thin photovoltaic technology?

In the opinion of Columbus's management, the above-mentioned recipients have the authority to be interested in the perovskite technology developed by Saule and consider incorporating it, for example, into the Polish Armaments Group or the Łukasiewicz Research Network. We asked the aforementioned ministries and PGZ whether they had received the letter. Only PGZ, which is responsible for analyzing the offer, responded. "We have received correspondence from Columbus regarding this matter. The information obtained is currently being analyzed, which will allow us to decide on further action," the PGZ press office informed us.

Saule Patents. Is there still something to fight for?

Saule's value is currently based solely on its patents. The company is effectively defunct, and its employees have left. However, as Olga Malinkiewicz assures us, Saule's patents are fully up-to-date and constitute the company's core value, from the simplest ones, registered at the outset, to the most advanced ones, registered just last year. "Developing technology and creating new patents is essential to maintaining its competitiveness. This is why all technology companies invest heavily in R&D, because even if they already possess patents, improving them is key to commercializing the technology. In recent years, we at the company have significantly improved our patents, which is why today the company has one of the largest patent portfolios in Europe," she explains. She adds that this spring, the company's operations and R&D spending were suspended. "The technology hasn't been updated for six months, and it may be losing value. The loss of competitiveness of these patents is the result of a conflict and hostile actions by Saule's lenders." Now, if we want to regain competitiveness, we have to catch up, says Olga Malinkiewicz.

Money dispute and Chinese buyer?

In 2022, Saule received the previously mentioned support from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. However, to launch this loan, a PLN 40 million down payment was required. This is where the aforementioned Piotr Kurczewski, who also holds over 20% of Columbus Energy's shares, comes in. "He offered us funds for our down payment. He was supposed to give us a PLN 40 million loan, payable in a lump sum. Instead of a lump sum payment, he paid Saule only PLN 16 million in tranches. Over the following years, he accumulated a total debt of PLN 60 million plus PLN 25 million in interest. Finally, we received an 'unrefutable offer' that the debt would be forgiven in exchange for acquiring 90% of the company's shares by diluting all other shareholders. I could no longer agree to that," Malinkiewicz says.

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According to our source, the August resolution of the Saule Supervisory Board indicates that an advisor from a Chinese law firm was appointed to conduct due diligence on Saule. "I'm receiving information from our partners around the world that Columbus is offering Saule to the Chinese. This isn't the first attempt by DC24 [a company headed by Piotr Kurczewski] and Columbus to sell Saule to them. In 2023, at the invitation of DC24 ASI and Columbus, a high-level Chinese delegation from Shenzhen Province visited Saule. Framework cooperation agreements were even signed, and later a series of emails appeared discussing the sale of Saule and the joint venture with the Chinese. From the beginning, I and the entire team were opposed not only to this transaction, but even to the Chinese visit to the Saule factory," says Malinkiewicz. In her opinion, Columbus's recent offer to sell Saule to state institutions is a smokescreen to distract attention from the attempted sale to the Chinese," Malinkiewicz says. – However, without my consent, the sale will be illegal – patents for Saule technology do not exist separately from their creators, regardless of who is their formal holder – he says.

Unrealistic production plans?

Columbus declined to share his side of the story. However, we managed to contact Michał Bochowicz, DC24's attorney. "As far as DC24 knows, the patents are still with the company. No one has removed them from the company," says Michał Bochowicz, DC24's attorney. He explains that DC24 provided the company with PLN 60 million in support, which could have been used, among other things, as an equity contribution to obtain a loan from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. "However, instead of creating a financing model for the company's future operations, the funds were simply devoured and spent on current operations. The company had no revenue at the time. Loans from DC24 to Saule totaled PLN 60 million. Columbus provided a similar amount of financing, in the form of equity contributions and loans," Bochowicz adds.