Thin-film photovoltaic production facility opened

DuPont Apollo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DuPont, has opened its silicon-based, thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. The facility supports renewable energy such as solar.

The 500,000 m² manufacturing facility will have an annual capacity of up to 50 MW with a thin-film-on-glass photovoltaic module production line. Full-scale commercial production is targeted for early next year.

In addition to providing the modules that are fully IEC certified, the company offers systems to the Chinese domestic market to help safeguard users’ long-term investments in renewable power generation.

Thin-film photovoltaic modules are projected to be the fastest growing segment of the solar module industry because of their potential to reduce the cost of producing solar-derived energy.

The modules are suitable for commercial rooftops, building facades and large-scale solar farm applications and they can generate more wattage output under diffuse lighting conditions. Silicon consumption is about 1/200 of traditional crystalline silicon solar cells.

The facility is the first total solar energy provider in China.

DuPont expects the photovoltaic market will grow rapidly over the next several years, due to a surge in innovation aimed at transforming a global petroleum-based economy into one that increasingly and effectively uses non-depletable resources.