Dupont has announced an investment of $175 million to complete the multi-phase expansion of its high-performance Dupont Tedlar PV2001 series oriented film production line. This investment is in addition to $120 million in capacity expansions, announced in August 2009, for raw materials used to make the film, bringing the total commitment of these two phases to $295 million. Tedlar films serve as the critical component of photovoltaic backsheets, providing long-term durability and performance for photovoltaic modules in all-weather conditions. The film line expansion will be located at the DuPont Circleville, Ohio, facility using existing and retrofitted assets. Film production is scheduled to start up in September 2011.
The manufacturing steps for Tedlar oriented film include producing vinyl fluoride (VF) monomer, which is converted into polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) polymer resins, and extruded into the Tedlar film. DuPont plans to increase monomer and polymer resin capacity by more than 50 percent. Construction is under way for these new monomer and resin facilities at the Dupont Louisville, Ky., and Fayetteville, N.C., sites, respectively, and the facilities are scheduled to start up in mid-2010.
Dupont said 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.