DuPont invests $295m in photovoltaic solar expansion

18 January 2010

NYSE-listed conglomerate DuPont has invested $175m to complete the multi-phase expansion of its solar film production line.

The investment is in addition to $120m in capacity expansions announced in August 2009 for raw materials used to make the film, bringing the total commitment of these two phases to $295m. Tedlar films serve as the critical component of photovoltaic backsheets, providing long-term durability and performance for photovoltaic modules in all-weather conditions.

The film line expansion will be located at the DuPont Circleville, Ohio, facility using existing and retrofitted assets and provides Tedlar oriented film capacity to support global demand of over 10GW of photovoltaic module production.

DuPont said the investment will help deliver DuPont technology to help meet increasing needs for energy and environmental sustainability, reflecting the company’s recently announced commitment to focus on meeting four emerging global trends, one of which is decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.

‘The photovoltaic market increasingly demands materials that enable modules to reliably deliver power for decades,’ said David Miller, president of DuPont Electronics & Communications. ‘This major expansion underscores our commitment to maintaining DuPont leadership in the photovoltaic industry and specifically in the backsheet materials market for solar panels.’

With film production scheduled to start up in September 2011, the manufacturing steps for Tedlar oriented film include producing vinyl fluoride (VF) monomer, which is converted into polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) polymer resins, and extruded into the Tedlar film. DuPont said it plans to increase monomer and polymer resin capacity by more than 50 per cent. Construction is under way for the new monomer and resin facilities at the DuPont’s Louisville and Fayetteville sites in North Carolina.

DuPont anticipates that the photovoltaic market will grow rapidly over the next several years, and this growth will drive the demand for Tedlar and other new materials that increase the lifetime and efficiency of solar cells and modules. DuPont expects that overall sales of its family of products into the photovoltaic industry will exceed $1bn by 2012.

DuPont Tedlar PVF films have been a component of photovoltaic backsheets for more than 25 years, enabling solar modules to achieve long-life performance. Tedlar films are also used in applications for aerospace, construction and graphics arts because of their durability and weatherability. DuPont said it has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: solar

This story was published on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 7:00 pm and is filed under North America, deals, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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