Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be homes to two new DuPont research centers. DuPont will use the new facilities for continued development of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy.
DuPont expects growth in the photovoltaic market to exceed 30 percent in each of the next several years. The company has made significant investments in product development and capacity expansions to help keep pace with the demand.
Accelerating its capability to meet emerging materials requirements is critical for DuPont, which has long been a leading supplier of materials primarily serving the crystalline silicon (c-Si) cell and module markets. The expansions in Hong Kong and Shenzhen will provide new offerings to serve the amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film market.
Thin film technology is well-suited for large-scale utility applications such as “solar farms” and industrial installations. The growth rate for thin film is projected to be approximately twice as high as demand for c-Si, and DuPont expects this increase to drive specifications for both new and existing products that serve the thin film industry. These include DuPont(TM) Butacite(R) PV sheet based on polyvinyl butyral (PVB), DuPont(TM) SentryGlas(R) PV sheet based on ionomer and DuPont(TM) Elvax(R) ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) that are offered as encapsulation materials for thin film modules.