DuPont to invest $120mn to increase capacity for Tedlar PV module materials

WILMINGTON, USA: As a leading supplier of materials to the solar photovoltaic industry, DuPont is providing further details of a multi-phase production expansion for its high-performance DuPont Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride (PVF)product line.

This phase of the expansion represents more than $120 million in investment which increases, by over 50 percent, the capacity of monomer and resin used in producing Tedlar films. Tedlar films serve as the critical backsheet component, providing long-term durability for photovoltaic modules in all-weather conditions.

Site selections for this phase of the Tedlar(R) capacity expansion are complete, and construction has begun for new monomer and resin facilities at the DuPont Louisville, Ky., and Fayetteville, N.C., sites, respectively. The facilities are scheduled to start up in mid-2010.

"This investment supports the significant increase in the global market demand for clean, renewable energy," said David B. Miller, group vice president -- DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies.

"Our capacity expansions are critical steps in growing the Tedlar business and maintaining our market leadership in backsheets for solar panels that deliver the long-term, reliable power supply that our customers have come to expect from their investment in renewable power generation."

The investment reflects the company's commitment, announced last week, to focus on meeting four emerging global trends, one of which is decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.

DuPont anticipates that the photovoltaic market will grow rapidly over the next several years, and this growth will drive the demand for Tedlar and other new materials that increase the lifetime and efficiency of solar cells and modules. DuPont expects that overall sales of its family of products into the photovoltaic industry will exceed $1 billion by 2012.

DuPont already has implemented capacity expansions in 2009 for Tedlar PV2100 series film and is completing the engineering and design for a planned expansion of Tedlar PV2000 series film production, which together will more than double Tedlar film capacity for the photovoltaic industry.

DuPont Tedlar PVF films have been an essential component of photovoltaic backsheets for more than 25 years. Tedlar is widely recognized as the industry standard due to its excellent strength, weather resistance, ultraviolet resistance and moisture barrier properties.

As a result, Tedlar enables solar modules to achieve long-life performance providing a long-term sustainable energy source for the marketplace. Tedlar films also are used in key applications for aerospace, construction and graphics arts because of their durability and weatherability. Tedlar is manufactured at DuPont sites in Fayetteville, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Parlin, N.J.; Fort Madison, Iowa and Towanda, Pa.

DuPont Tedlar PVF films are part of the broad and growing portfolio of products from DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, which applies DuPont science and technology to support the dramatic growth of the photovoltaic industry globally.