07.20.15
Solvay Specialty Polymers announced at Intersolar North America 2015 that films extruded from its Advanced Halar 500 ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) resin helped enable two lightweight, yet durable photovoltaic (PV) front sheets developed by Amcor.
Now available in the U.S., Amcor’s lightweight, flexible Rayotec and Ceramis front sheets greatly expand options for advanced solar energy applications by eliminating structural weight limitations and rigidity imposed by glass, thereby improving the integration of PV modules into complex shapes.
“Durable, lightweight performance and protection are among the key criteria for front sheets targeting today’s fast-growing U.S. market for building-integrated photovoltaic applications,” said Wojciech Skalbani, global sales and marketing director of technical products at Amcor. “The unique combination of performance properties provided by Solvay’s Halar 500 ECTFE resin allowed our Rayotec and Ceramis films to meet these and other demanding requirements and deliver a competitive new solution to the U.S. solar industry.”
Halar 500 ECTFE is a melt-processable fluoropolymer that can be extruded into transparent films with widths up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and varying thicknesses. A typical 50-µm thick (0.002-in) film delivers over 90 percent light transmission and weighs only 84 g/m2 (2.9 oz/10.8 ft2). This is in marked contrast to a sheet of identically sized, conventional 3-mm thick glass targeting the same PV applications, which weighs 7.5 kg/m2 (16.5 lbs/10.8 ft2).
Amcor also chose Halar 500 ECTFE resin-based film as an additional protective layer for its Ceramis PV front sheet, which targets copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar panel applications. This front sheet incorporates a sensitive silicon oxide layer that provides the durable moisture barrier that’s critical for long-lasting performance of CIGS panels. Halar 500 ECTFE’s excellent UV-resistance protects this sensitive layer to support the overall reliability of both the front sheet and finished CIGS panel. Further, the flexibility of Halar ECTFE-based film vs. glass enables more efficient roll-to-roll processing of Amcor’s Ceramis front sheet.
Now available in the U.S., Amcor’s lightweight, flexible Rayotec and Ceramis front sheets greatly expand options for advanced solar energy applications by eliminating structural weight limitations and rigidity imposed by glass, thereby improving the integration of PV modules into complex shapes.
“Durable, lightweight performance and protection are among the key criteria for front sheets targeting today’s fast-growing U.S. market for building-integrated photovoltaic applications,” said Wojciech Skalbani, global sales and marketing director of technical products at Amcor. “The unique combination of performance properties provided by Solvay’s Halar 500 ECTFE resin allowed our Rayotec and Ceramis films to meet these and other demanding requirements and deliver a competitive new solution to the U.S. solar industry.”
Halar 500 ECTFE is a melt-processable fluoropolymer that can be extruded into transparent films with widths up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and varying thicknesses. A typical 50-µm thick (0.002-in) film delivers over 90 percent light transmission and weighs only 84 g/m2 (2.9 oz/10.8 ft2). This is in marked contrast to a sheet of identically sized, conventional 3-mm thick glass targeting the same PV applications, which weighs 7.5 kg/m2 (16.5 lbs/10.8 ft2).
Amcor also chose Halar 500 ECTFE resin-based film as an additional protective layer for its Ceramis PV front sheet, which targets copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar panel applications. This front sheet incorporates a sensitive silicon oxide layer that provides the durable moisture barrier that’s critical for long-lasting performance of CIGS panels. Halar 500 ECTFE’s excellent UV-resistance protects this sensitive layer to support the overall reliability of both the front sheet and finished CIGS panel. Further, the flexibility of Halar ECTFE-based film vs. glass enables more efficient roll-to-roll processing of Amcor’s Ceramis front sheet.