TECHNEWS
Dupont continues its Helping hand for
PV expansion
back contacted
solar cells
DuPont is investing $175 million at the increasing needs for energy and As part of their ongoing technology
Circleville, Ohio, site to complete a multi- environmental sustainability. This partnership, Solland Solar and AT&S
phase expansion of high-performance reflects the company’s recently will build a prototype line for PV
DuPont Tedlar PV2001 series oriented announced commitment to focus on modules with Sunweb back-contacted
film production line. This investment adds meeting four emerging global trends, one solar cells. The construction of the
to the $120 million in capacity of which is decreasing dependence on prototype line marks a significant
expansions, announced last August, for fossil fuels. Film production is milestone on the road to commercial
raw materials used to make the film, scheduled to start up in September 2011. availability later in 2010.
bringing the total commitment of these
two phases to $295 million. “The photovoltaic market increasingly The overall goal of the technology
demands materials that enable modules partnership between Solland Solar and
Tedlar films serve as the critical to reliably deliver power for decades,” AT&S is to jointly develop and put into
component of photovoltaic (PV) said Dave Miller, president – DuPont industrial production the innovative
backsheets, providing long-term Electronics & Communications. “This back-contact module technology for
durability and performance for PV major expansion underscores our Sunweb cells. The technology uses
modules in all-weather conditions. commitment to maintaining DuPont processes and materials that are
DuPont expects the PV market to grow leadership in the PV industry and standard in the printed circuit board
rapidly over the next several years, specifically in the backsheet materials industry but are not yet applied in
driving the demand for Tedlar® and market for solar panels.” photovoltaics. Solland Solar’s Sunweb
other new materials that increase the concept enables best in class module
lifetime and efficiency of solar cells and Manufacturing Tedlar involves converting efficiency for multi-crystalline silicon
modules. Overall sales of company a vinyl fluoride monomer into polyvinyl solar cells with beautiful visual
products into the PV industry are fluoride (PVF) polymer resins, and appearance and low production cost.
7
anticipated to exceed $1 billion by 2012. extruded into Tedlar® film. DuPont
plans to increase monomer and polymer
www
The film line expansion uses existing and resin capacity by more than 50%.
.solar
retrofitted assets. With this Tedlar Construction has begun for new
expansion, the company can support monomer and resin facilities at the
-pv-management.com
global demand of more than 10 gigawatts DuPont Louisville, Ky., and Fayetteville,
(GW) of PV module production, delivering N.C., sites, respectively. These facilities
DuPont technology to help meet are scheduled to start up mid-year.
In the first year of the partnership,
Self-assembly of
Solland Solar’s basic idea of the
Sunweb back contacted solar cell
solar cells uses
Issue I 2010
was combined with new
interconnection and switching
silicon and gold
technology from AT&S. All
components and production
Solar cells which can be self assembled processes have been developed
could be done so in a cheap and simple accordingly for use in volume
way, after researchers from the University production. Extensive tests have been
of Minnesota overcame challenges successfully completed, establishing
including gravity in the micrometer range. that the project satisfies all the
The team had previously attempted to molten solder. Each depression had a necessary reliability, safety and
make self-assembling electronic silicon cube with one gold face, which performance requirements.
components by using gravity to drive the had a water attracting coating.
process, although chemical processes The next phase in the project, the
can be used in nanoscale systems. “This method allows one to use single construction of a joint prototype
crystal silicon, which is superior to other production line at AT&S’s plant in
Heiko Jacobs and Robert Knuesel types of silicon for making solar cells,” Austria, is scheduled for completion by
created a flexible substrate of a thin layer said Babak Parviz, nano-engineering the summer of 2010, and will
of semiconducting copper which was professor at the University of Washington. incorporate the results achieved during
covered with propylene-terephthalate. the last year into the industrial
Regular depressions were etched into the The study was revealed in Proceedings of production process.
layer and the sheet was dipped into the National Academy of Sciences.
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