Dow Corning signed a three-year contract with Belgium-based research firm imec to perform joint research on next generations of crystalline silicon solar cells.
Dow Corning is a joint venture equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Corning, Inc. (NYSE: GLW).
The collaboration between Dow Corning and imec will focus on topics
where Dow Corning’s materials can bring enabling solutions for
future solar cells. An example is a
silicone encapsulant process for integrated cell and module processing.
Due to the use of very thin and large wafers, cell processing and
module assembly become increasingly challenging. Imec and Dow Corning
will combine new cell structures with novel silicone encapsulant
processes with a goal of producing cost-effective modules with
ultra-thin cells.
The overall aim of imec’s industrial affiliation program (IIAP) on silicon solar cells is to reduce silicon use, while increasing the efficiency of solar cells.
“With Dow Corning joining our silicon solar cell IIAP, our research can benefit from the latest innovations in materials. By bringing together all the different players in the silicon solar cell value chain, ranging from energy companies, solar cell manufacturers to material and equipment suppliers, we can speed up the development of new processes which are tested on a semi-industrial pilot line. As such we accelerate the transfer to mass production;” said Jef Poortmans, Program Director Solar+ at imec.
Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1,750 people includes over 550 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2008, imec’s revenue (P&L) was EUR 270 million.
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