Chemistry is ... Power of the Sun

The stunning catamaran PlanetSolar that has been launched in March 2010 in Kiel, Germany, is the winner of the 2012 Practical Boat Owner (PBO) Green Award for having circumnavigated the globe using solar energy only.

DuPont, an official partner of PlanetSolar, has supplied Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) film, which is used as a component for the photovoltaic backsheets. It helps protect the modules and ensure reliable power generation and avoid any energy source failure. The biggest solar run ship in the world exposes to the sun a total of 537 m² of photovoltaic surface with a panel efficiency of 18.8% that powers a 6-block lithium-ion battery.