ET Solar and DSM announce strategic partnership to accelerate market penetration of PV modules featuring unique sustainable and durable backsheets
ET Solar, a differentiated global top-quality PV module provider, and Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, today signed a strategic partnership agreement to commercialize PV solar modules featuring unique sustainable and durable backsheets. These backsheets can make a significant contribution to further lowering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE).Under the agreement, ET Solar will apply DSM’s new high-durability backsheets to boost power gain in their high-efficiency modules. Furthermore, the two companies will collaborate in developing and testing new environmentally friendly backsheets that will help reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) even further.
By combining ET Solar’s extensive module technology know-how with DSM’s decades of experience in material science innovation, this partnership represents a significant step for the solar industry, says Mr. Zhenhai Guo, president of ET Solar. “DSM is a global science-based company, with strong expertise in health, nutrition and materials. The partnership with DSM will contribute not only to the solar industry, but also to the environment. We are proud to be DSM’s global strategic partner in making environmentally friendly modules. I’m confident that our cooperation with DSM will be successful. DSM has a strong position in materials, which are vital to create the best module components. I believe the partnership will bring great benefits to both companies in the future.”
“The strategic partnership with ET Solar is an important next step in realizing our growth ambitions in the backsheet market,” says Oscar Goddijn, Vice President DSM Advanced Solar. “New materials and technologies will clearly play a crucial role in solar PV innovation, as well as in the relentless search for opportunities to reduce the LCOE. These developments can only be successful if, as an industry, we work closely together. Our backsheet technology is designed to deliver long-term power gain and is made from materials proven to perform for decades in the harshest conditions. And as they are fluoride-free, they are friendly to the environment, resulting in a 30% lower CO2 footprint compared to fluoride-based backsheets.”
The DSM commitment: Same sun. More power.™
While solar energy has become a key part of the global energy mix over the past decade, more work is needed for it to increasingly become a global and financially viable alternative to fossil fuels. This essentially means that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of solar PV needs to be reduced. Building on the success of its industry-leading Anti-Reflective coating, DSM aims to commercialize a portfolio of innovations focused on lowering the cost of solar energy by providing solid, durable and sustainable materials solutions. This includes the unique, high-performance solar photovoltaic backsheets based on co-extrusion technology. Polymer backsheets are essential to the performance of solar PV modules: they increase both the modules’ durability and output.
The ET Solar commitment
The strategic partnership with DSM is an extensive and long-term collaboration, including development cooperation with regard to backsheets, anti-reflective coatings, anti-soiling coatings, and other environmentally friendly materials. The partnership has far-reaching significance; it will not only enhance the efficiency of ET Solar’s modules, but also contribute to the industry and the environment. The cooperation between DSM and ET solar will have mutual benefits and will help the development of PV manufacturing in China.
To learn more about the partnership, visit us at the SNEC 11th (2017) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition from 19-21 April in Shanghai (DSM Booth #W5-350, ET Solar Booth #E2-550).
