Encapsulant provider Changzhou Better Film is to invest RMB800 million (US$125 million) into establishing 20GW of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) production in the Chinese city of Chuzhou.
At a signing ceremony for the investment held on 10 January, attendees discussed “deepening the development and cooperation of the photovoltaic film industry” with other sectors of the energy industry.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
The expansion is to bolster the solar industry’s supply of the encapsulant, a critical component for module manufacturing, amidst concerns of EVA supply becoming a bottleneck as solar wafer, cell and module manufacturing capacity expands.
The thermoplastic polymer encapsulant is currently a bottleneck in solar PV module production, according to anecdotal evidence on the ground, and the new facility will therefore go someway in helping to alleviate a reported shortage.
Module manufacturers LONGi, JinkoSolar and Suntech have production centres in Chuzhou and, “as a supporting enterprise of photovoltaic modules”, Changzhou Better Film intends to “give full play to its own advantages in technology”, according to a company media release.
