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Self-adhesive rubber films make solar cells more cost effective
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09/04/2008
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Centrosolar Group, headquartered in Paderbon, Germany and Lanxess have developed a production method for solar cells that only requires that wafers be placed between two self adhesive 0.5mm thick films of “Levamelt”, a new ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
Levamelt is a UV and visible light permeable, weather resistant elastomer that contains no components that turn yellow with the passage of time. The two companies have been testing 16 modules based on the new material and comparing them with 16 standard, conventional solar modules in a test facility that Lanxess installed on the roof of its headquarters in Leverkusen in July 2007.
The new PV modules were manufactured by Ubbink Solar Modules, which is a member of the Centrosolar Group. Dr Josef Wrobel, sales and marketing director at Centrosolar explained that, “The lamination process for the existing EVA is a critical point in solar module production as cycle times in the laminator are very long. The new Levamelt has enabled us to cut the process significantly”. Gerd Deimel, head of the chloroprene rubber business line in the Technical Rubber Products business unit at Lanxess said that, “According to provisional assessments, the performance of Levamelt modules overall is even better than conventionally manufactured products”.
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Author
Tom Shelley
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