March 19, 2008 16:59 ET

Hoku Scientific Announces Signing of Polysilicon Reactor Supply Contract for Potential Expansion

POCATELLO, ID--(Marketwire - March 19, 2008) - Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU), established to manufacture and sell polysilicon for the solar market, today announced that it signed a new polysilicon reactor supply contract with GEC Graeber Engineering Consultants GmbH to give Hoku Materials the option to purchase additional polysilicon reactors for the production of up to 8,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year. Hoku Materials and Graeber Engineering Consultants are parties to an existing supply contract whereby Hoku has ordered reactors to produce 2,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year, with an option to purchase reactors for an additional 500 metric tons of polysilicon per year. Under this new agreement, Hoku has an option, without obligation, to order reactors at any time over a twelve-month period at predetermined pricing and delivery terms. Locking-in reactor pricing and delivery terms is essential for planning the construction and procurement of a polysilicon plant because the reactors are among the longest lead-time items and are a significant percentage of overall plant equipment costs.

"This additional contract with GEC gives us the flexibility to expand our production capacity at a predicable cost and with a guaranteed reactor delivery schedule," said Dustin Shindo, Chief Executive Officer of Hoku Scientific. "While our ability to expand our facility depends on the volume of our potential future customer contracts, this agreement enables us to scale our polysilicon reactor capacity up to 8,000 metric tons per year, which we believe is possible on our existing 67-acre property in Pocatello, Idaho."

About Hoku Scientific, Inc.

Hoku Scientific (NASDAQ: HOKU) is a diversified clean energy technologies company with three business units: Hoku Materials, Hoku Solar and Hoku Fuel Cells. Hoku Materials plans to manufacture, market, and sell polysilicon for the solar market from its plant currently under construction in Pocatello, Idaho. Hoku Solar is marketing and installs turnkey photovoltaic systems in Hawaii. Hoku Fuel Cells has developed proprietary fuel cell membranes and membrane electrode assemblies for stationary and automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cells. For more information visit www.hokuscientific.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve many risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to Hoku Materials' ability to successfully raise sufficient funds to establish polysilicon manufacturing facilities; its ability to engineer and construct a production plant for polysilicon; its ability to manufacture polysilicon; its cost to procure a polysilicon production facility; the ultimate production output of Hoku Materials' planned polysilicon facility, and the ability to increase production capacity to 8,000 metric tons per year on the existing 67-acre site in Pocatello, Idaho; the ability of GEC Graeber Engineering Consultants GmbH to meet the delivery schedules in its agreement with Hoku Materials; Hoku Scientific's future financial performance; Hoku Scientific's business strategy and plans; and objectives of management for future operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Hoku Scientific's actual results, performance, time frames or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, time frames or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider the risks described in Hoku Scientific's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Hoku Scientific assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Hoku, Hoku Solar, Hoku Fuel Cells, and the Hoku Scientific logo are trademarks of Hoku Scientific, Inc., and Hoku Materials is the trademark of Hoku Materials, Inc., all rights reserved.