Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI), a Littleton, Colo., development stage thin-film photovoltaic company, said this week it received a follow on investment from Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY).

The Norwegian offshore oil and gas producer poured an additional $10.5 million into Ascent with today's announcement.

Hydro is also the third-largest integrated aluminum supplier in the world, and the second largest maker of aluminum siding in the world.

"Its super-thin and flexible solar cell modules go very well together with Hydro's building systems activities, and we are looking forward to a continued fruitful partnership together with Ascent," said Einar Glomnes, head of Hydro's Solar Division.

Ascent said in June that the two companies had already started working on the joint development of a building integrated photovoltaic product line (see Ascent Solar AGM buoys shares).

"The additional capital will help accelerate our plans towards building our first 25 megawatt high volume production plant. The full 25 MW build-out is planned to be complete by the end of 2009," Ascent president and CEO Matthew Foster said this week.

Foster said his company's 1.5 MW pilot plant in Denver should be complete by the end of 2007, with initial production beginning in early 2008.

In March, Hydro purchased 1.6 million Ascent shares for $9.2 million, but Hydro's equity stake in Ascent holds steady at 23 percent after its holdings were diluted as the result of Ascent's recent redemption of Class A public warrants.

This latest deal also gives Hydro 23 percent of Ascent's outstanding Class B warrants.

And this won't be the last investment Ascent will see from Norway. Hydro has another option to increase its shares in Ascent up to 35 percent. That option kicks in Dec. 13.