May 6 2008
DuPont today announced it will soon begin construction on a research center in Hong Kong and a manufacturing facility in Shenzhen to support the rapidly growing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy industry.
Douglas Muzyka, president - DuPont Greater China (middle) Signs a Letter of Intent to Open New R&D and Production Facilities to Support the Growing Photovoltaic Solar Energy Industry with Secretary-General Gao Guo Hui, Shenzen Municipal Government (left of Muzyka) and Nicholas Brooke, Chairman, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (right of Muzyka).
"Through investments in materials, technology development and manufacturing, DuPont is accelerating its ability to deliver innovations that will improve the lifetime and efficiency of photovoltaic modules, and also have enough production capability to help keep pace with the fast rising global demand," said David B. Miller, group vice president -- DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies.
"DuPont is pleased and honored to be a part of this joint collaboration with Hong Kong and Shenzhen because we share a commitment to meet the needs for renewable energy as this region continues to grow," said Douglas Muzyka, president - DuPont Greater China.
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.
Significant further investment is planned for both a-Si and c-Si markets, including further capacity expansions for DuPont(TM) Tedlar(R) film and Solamet(R) thick film metallization paste.
"The most important factor for continued rapid market growth is achieving continuous year-over-year cost reductions in installed photovoltaic system cost, and we will continue to invest in offerings that meet the needs of this market," Miller said.