There were many illusions in Saule. Opening audit, controversial expenses and the prosecutor's office

In May we wrote about Saule's problems. There was a sharp conflict between Olga Malinkiewicz and the investors. After a few weeks we learned the preliminary results of the opening audit - there were many illusions so far, and Polish perovskites still need 10 years and 1 billion zlotys.

For some time now, there has been a growing conflict in Saule concerning control over the company and its development strategy. The dispute was between Olga Malinkiewicz, Columbus Energy and the DC24 Alternatywna Spółka Inwestycyjna fund.

After personnel changes, the new authorities ordered an internal audit and its results may be surprising. It turns out that work on perovskite cells is at a very early stage of development and more than a billion zlotys are needed to achieve the planned goals.

"In order to develop a product that can be used outdoors (e.g. on the roofs of warehouses), further expenditures of PLN 1.2 billion and further research and development work are necessary, which may take about 10 years (the previous Management Board declared that about PLN 100 million and 2-4 years would be enough for this purpose). The previous management's announcements regarding the level of advancement of the production line in 2020-2024 were very different depending on who they were addressed to and stated readiness for production at a level from 3,000 m2 to 40,000 m2," reads Saule's press release.

In turn, the production of less complex solutions, i.e. first-generation modules with limited efficiency, limited service life, for indoor use only and maximum semi-automatic production of up to 25,000 m2, will, according to the research team, require at least another 2 years of research and development work and PLN 200 million in capital expenditure (excluding repayment of current liabilities) - it was added.

In the announcement, the new Saule management emphasizes that "the current level of development of perovskite cells is clearly inconsistent with the information that was communicated and provided in official documents by the previous Saule management, and in media communications by Olga Malinkiewicz. The audit revealed a number of irregularities and false information contained in reports to investors, as well as in applications for financing from public funds submitted, for example, to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management."

"In addition to information about the level of technological advancement, the information about the production capabilities of the Wrocław plant was also untrue, e.g. in the application for financing to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management from 2022, there is information about the plant's production readiness at the level of 40,000 m2 per year, while currently the Wrocław factory has a potential production capacity not exceeding 1,000 m2 per year (in shift mode with the participation of many specialists in full-time positions, raising doubts as to the repeatability of quality and stability of production) rather still at the level of laboratory tests," it was added.

However, this is not the end of doubts in the current operation. It is also about the way funds from both investors and public funds were spent by the previous management. "Over the last 8 years of the Company's operations, according to the information provided by the financial director of Saule, over 50% of expenses - i.e. over PLN 140 million was not spent on research and development, production equipment, laboratory or full-time positions of scientific workers or engineers, but on other categories of expenses, i.e. maintaining the office in Warsaw, travel or financing the fleet for the Company's management board, " we read in the release.

In connection with the audit results , the new management board of Saule Technologies decided to prepare a notification to the prosecutor's office about the possibility of committing a crime related to the extortion of public funds, as well as money from private investors, by the previous management board of the company and misleading investors - including stock exchange investors.

- What is most important is the fact that the audit confirmed the existence of the technology and the possibility of its further development. Therefore, as a Company, we are not closing ourselves off to options for further cooperation and we encourage potential interested parties with the appropriate financial and technological background to talk about further joint development of Polish perovskites - says Michał Gondek, member of the board of Saule Technologies, vice president of Columbus Energy.

On May 19, 2025, the management board of Saule Technologies and Malinkiewicz herself declared that they were evading the effects of the concluded agreement, claiming that they had been misled by the DC24 fund . Malinkiewicz filed a notification with the National Prosecutor's Office about the suspicion of acting to the detriment of Saule Technologies and Saule SA by representatives of DC24 and Columbus Energy . She accused Piotr Kurczewski (president of DC24) of misleading her about investment intentions and forcing her to sign documents that could be used to make unfavorable dispositions of the company's assets.

May 19, 2025 – Columbus Energy, exercising its statutory rights, appointed new members of the supervisory boards of Saule and Saule Technologies, who a few hours later dismissed Malinkiewicz from the management board . She was replaced by Michał Gondek.

Let us recall that perovskite cells produced by Saule can generate energy not only from sunlight, but also from artificial light, they are light, flexible and transparent .

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