DuPont (NYSE: DD) announced plans with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a $9 million solar research program designed to accelerate commercialization of an ultra-thin protective film to prevent moisture from degrading the performance of thin-film PV modules.
The three-year program is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. DuPont will provide $6 million and the DOE will contribute $3 million to the program.
Thin film PV panels can be made with flexible plastic instead of glass, and can be bent and wrapped, offering greater versatility and easier integration into the roofing, windows or siding of a commercial or residential building. Environmental degradation can take place without glass protecting the sensitive portions of the module.
The program aims to enable the broad, commercial production of flexible PV modules that are durable and lightweight with higher efficiency. The initial focus of the program is on Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) type thin film PV modules, however, the technology could be applied to other PV technologies and potentially into other industries.
DuPont has said it expects to nearly triple its annual photovoltaic sales to more than $1 billion in 2012.
Previous DuPont and DOE partnerships include a 2003 joint research agreement to develop an integrated "bio-refinery" to use corn or other renewable resources–rather than traditional petrochemicals–to produce a host of valuable fuels and value-added chemicals.
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