A recently signed a licensing agreement with see Taiflex Scientific offer its ‘Solmate’ backsheet, coupled to DuPont’s new ‘TPNext’ laminate, which is based on DuPont’s ‘Tedlar’ polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) backsheet film. DuPont Photovoltaic Fluoromaterials developed the new backsheet technology to enhance the quality and manufacturability of c-Si-based modules by improving adhesion to encapsulants, resistance to ultraviolet (UV) light and enabling faster throughput in the backsheet production process, an area receiving constant attention to help drive down manufacturing costs.
John E. Odom, global business director – DuPont Photovoltaic Fluoromaterials said: “We’ve been innovating with Tedlar film for 50 years, and this latest introduction represents an important milestone toward enabling the photovoltaic (PV) industry to reach grid parity faster by providing next-generation, high quality, durable Tedlar film and backsheet constructions. We are confident that this collaboration with Taiflex Scientific will be highly successful due to their commitment to Tedlar film-based backsheet, our shared commitment to technology innovation and their proven track record of speed in implementation.”
TPNext is a proprietary laminate consisting of Tedlar film, polyester and a unique extrusion-coated tie-layer from DuPont that is claimed to reduce the use of organic solvent-based adhesives, and deliver improved and consistent adhesion to EVA encapsulants as well as improved UV resistance. The TPNext laminate is a single protective layer backsheet, designed to complement the standard construction of Tedlar film, polyester, and Tedlar film known as TPT.
According to John Chiang, president of Taiflex Scientific, “We feel this type of technology has the potential to help reduce overall system costs while enhancing performance.”
DuPont’s new ‘TPNext’ laminate is part of a suite of products the company is launching at EU PVSEC in Hamburg this week.
