Materials Matter™
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MATERIALS MATTER™ Lower Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) through DuPont Innovation MATERIALS MATTER™ FOR BETTER LONG-TERM PV SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND HIGHER FINANCIAL RETURNS DuPont has a rich heritage of innovation and leadership in the PV industry. It all began more than 55 years ago when our scientists created the first purified silicon for Bell Labs for use in the PV market. Since then, our broad and growing portfolio of materials has enabled significant leaps in module efficiency, reliability and overall system cost reduction. We are committed to continually driving technology innovation and have been granted nearly 200 PV worldwide patents since 2008, with more than 1,300 patent applications currently pending. In 2011, DuPont spent $2 billion U.S. dollars on research and development, with a significant portion focused on advancing the efficiency, lifetime and cost competitiveness of solar energy. We’ve also invested hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in supply expansions over the past few years to support long-term industry growth. Today, DuPont offers the broadest materials portfolio time-tested for decades in more than five trillion in PV and provides six of the eight most critical materials panel-hours of outdoor PV field installations all around for manufacturing solar modules. These materials are the world. That’s trillions more hours of real PV exposure not only innovative, they have delivered demonstrable than other material providers in the industry. results, including: nearly doubling cell efficiency over 12 years; providing greater reliability and extending Looking ahead, we aim to increase efficiency well beyond system lifetime—with 30+ years of proven backsheet 20% and extend system lifetime toward 40 years, while performance; and reducing overall system cost with increasing system safety and reducing cost. This will help technology advancements in efficiency, module enable the achievement of grid parity broadly and create protection and installation. a more sustainable and viable global solar energy industry. Technology innovation is the past, present and future More than half of the world’s 300 million solar panels of solar energy—with DuPont playing a vital role in installed since 1975 rely on DuPont materials science. advancing the science of solar and the PV industry. That means many of our innovative materials have been YEARS DuPont™ Solamet® has doubled solar cell Tedlar® film has 30+ years of proven 2X efficiency over 12 years. 30 performance in PV modules. TRILLION % DuPont PV materials have been time-tested More than half of the world’s 300 in >5 trillion panel-hours of outdoor PV field million panels installed since 1975 5 installations across the globe since 1975. +50 have DuPont materials in them. MATERIALS MATTER™ DuPont puts its science to work to offer the PV industry a broad product portfolio of solutions for traditional crystalline silicon and thin film modules. FRONTSHEET MATERIALS THIN FILM SUBSTRATES AND SUPERSTRATES DuPont™ Teflon® films DuPont™ Kapton® polyimide films DuPont™ Teflon® frontsheets are used to make solar With roll-to-roll processing and a low CTE to minimize panels for both portable applications and grid-connected, stress, DuPont™ Kapton® films are well suited for use as flexible systems. With high light transmittance, DuPont™ the base in flexible PV systems. They feature low moisture Teflon® films help increase power output. Lightweight and uptake and high moisture release characteristics while flexible, they offer excellent UV resistance, outstanding also delivering excellent electrical properties and increased weatherability and exceptional mechanical strength and voltage endurance. Next-generation substrates with higher durability against cracking. temperature capacity and lower CTE characteristics, as well as colorless superstrate films, are in development. PHOTOVOLTAIC ENCAPSULANTS DuPont™ Elvax® EVA resins SODIUM METAL FOR POLY-SILICON DuPont™ PV5200 Series encapsulant sheeting MANUFACTURING DuPont™ PV5300 Series encapsulant sheeting DuPont™ Niapure® and Niapure® Select sodium metal DuPont™ PV5400 Series encapsulant sheeting Critical starting materials for poly-silicon manufacturing, DuPont™ PV8600 Series encapsulant sheeting DuPont™ Niapure® sodium metal offers excellent purity DuPont™ Elvax® EVA resins cushion individual cells from that increases yield, reliable supply and integrated product ® impact and enable the transmission of sunlight to the safety management. Niapure is used as a power reducing cells. Ranging from soft to structural, clear DuPont™ PV5200 agent in alternative poly-silicon processes. Series encapsulant sheeting, based on Butacite® PVB, and DuPont™ PV5300, PV5400 & PV8600 Series, based WET-ETCH ADDITIVES FOR PV on SentryGlas® ionomer, offer proven safety and laminating DuPont™ Capstone® fluorosurfactants performance—delivering long-term protection for the most Stable in both acidic and alkaline solutions, sensitive portions of PV modules. DuPont™ Capstone® fluorosurfactants enable homogenous wet-etching of thin semiconductor wafers with improved PHOTOVOLTAIC METALLIZATIONS surface roughness, translating to increased cell efficiencies. DuPont™ Solamet® The unrivaled wetting power of Capstone® fluorosurfactants photovoltaic metallizations allows for their deep penetration into wafer surface defects, With a broad range of characteristics, these high performance significantly minimizing waste from fractured wafers, and metallization compositions, used in front side grid, tabbing provides unique etch attenuation, enabling kinetic control and back surface field applications, help to increase the over the process and activating a wider range of wet-etch efficiency and yield of solar cells. operating temperatures. SILICON DOPING TECHNOLOGIES HIGH PERFORMANCE PARTS ™ ® DuPont™ Innovalight™ silicon inks DuPont Kalrez perfluoroelastomer parts ™ ® DuPont™ Innovalight™ silicon inks used in conjunction with High performance DuPont Kalrez parts retain their DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes elastomeric properties at temperatures as high as boost the amount of electricity produced from sunlight, 325°C, and resist more than 1,800 chemicals, including enabling the production of superior selective emitter solar reactive gases and plasmas, alkalis, acids and solvents. cells that more efficiently convert blue light into energy. They are ideal for silicon wafer and thin film cell manufacturing processes, poly-silicon feedstock BACKSHEET MATERIALS production and abatement systems. ™ ® DuPont Tedlar PVF films ™ ® DuPont Zalak high performance seals Long considered the industry standard for UV and DuPont™ Zalak® high performance seals offer a cost-effective weather-resistant backsheets, DuPont™ Tedlar® PVF films alternative in select applications where traditional sealing deliver superior, proven module protection against the materials are insufficient. elements with outstanding mechanical and moisture barrier properties plus excellent resistance to weathering. DuPont™ Vespel® parts DuPont™ Vespel® parts improve yield by reducing scratches ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL in glass and wafer handling. Vespel® composite products COMPONENT MATERIALS with ultra-high modulus offer low deflection with vibration DuPont™ Rynite® PET polyester resins dampening, allowing faster and more precise handling of DuPont™ Crastin® PBT polyester resins the glass substrate. DuPont™ Zytel® PA nylon resins DuPont performance polymers meet all known thermal requirements and deliver long-lasting performance in harsh environments for junction boxes, connectors, cables and parts for inverters. In frames and fixations, DuPont performance polymers allow for greater design flexibility for ease of assembly and improved cost of installation, while also eliminating outdoor corrosion issues. THE DUPONT PORTFOLIO OF INNOVATIVE MATERIALS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES AND MANUFACTURING CRYSTALLINE SILICON THIN FILM A FRONTSHEET MATERIALS A DuPont™ Teflon® films B PHOTOVOLTAIC ENCAPSULANTS DuPont™ Elvax® EVA resins DuPont™ PV5200 Series encapsulant sheeting A DuPont™ PV5300 Series encapsulant sheeting DuPont™ PV5400 Series encapsulant sheeting DuPont™ PV8600 Series encapsulant sheeting F B B C PHOTOVOLTAIC METALLIZATIONS DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallizations C D SILICON DOPING TECHNOLOGIES DuPont™ Innovalight™ silicon inks B E E THIN FILM SUBSTRATES AND SUPERSTRATES F DuPont™ Kapton® polyimide films C F F ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL COMPONENT MATERIALS B DuPont™ Rynite® PET thermoplastic polyester resins D F G G BACKSHEET MATERIALS DuPont™ Tedlar® PVF films SODIUM METAL FOR POLY-SILICON MANUFACTURING F DuPont™ Niapure® and Niapure® Select sodium metal G WET-ETCH ADDITIVES FOR PV MANUFACTURING DuPont™ Capstone® fluorosurfactants HIGH PERFORMANCE PARTS DuPont™ Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts DuPont™ Zalak® high performance seals DuPont™ Vespel® parts If you would like to learn more about DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, please give us a call or visit our website. U.S. (Toll Free) 1-888-387-8337 Europe, Middle-East & Africa +34-985-12-3773 Taiwan +886-3-377-3528 China (Toll Free) +86-400-8851-888 Japan +81-3-5521-8500 India +91-124-409-1818 photovoltaics.dupont.com This information corresponds to our current knowledge on the subject. It is offered solely to provide possible suggestions for your own experimentations. It is not intended, however, to substitute for any testing you may need to conduct to determine for yourself the suitability of our products for your particular purposes. This information