Technology to Enhance Solar Cell Efficiency; Potential to Accelerate Adoption of Solar Energy
DuPont today announced that it has acquired Innovalight, Inc., a company specializing in advanced silicon inks and process technologies that increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells. The acquisition further strengthens DuPont’s position as a clear leader in materials for the solar energy market, enabling a broader and more integrated photovoltaic materials and technology offering from DuPont. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
DuPont exceeded $1 billion in revenue from sales into the photovoltaic market in 2010, and has set a goal to reach $2 billion by 2014 based on continued growth supported by new innovations that improve solar module efficiency, lifetime and overall system costs.
“Innovalight has very exciting technology that improves cell efficiency and DuPont can help expedite its adoption,” said David B. Miller, president – DuPont Electronics & Communications. “DuPont and Innovalight share a commitment to innovation in materials that have a common purpose – to make solar energy more efficient and more affordable.”
Innovalight, located in Sunnyvale, Calif., has developed innovative proprietary silicon ink products, process technology and a pipeline of anticipated products. Silicon inks used in conjunction with DuPontTM Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes boost the amount of electricity produced from sunlight, enabling the production of superior Selective Emitter solar cells. According to industry estimates, Selective Emitter technology could represent 13 percent of crystalline silicon solar cell production by 2013 and up to 38 percent by 2020.
“Innovalight brings in-depth knowledge of solar devices, silicon technology and Selective Emitter technology, and DuPont adds expertise in materials science, manufacturing capabilities and global market access,” said Conrad Burke, founder – Innovalight. “Our offerings are complementary to one another, and together we will broaden and accelerate our ability to meet customer needs and address today’s energy challenges with our continued innovations.”
DuPont anticipates that the acquisition will enable opportunities for greater efficiencies and future innovations which could more quickly and effectively help address the market demand for higher-efficiency solar cell designs. DuPont experience in production scale-up and manufacturing operations will accelerate time-to-market for Innovalight products and broaden customers’ access to the technology. In addition, DuPont’s broad range of offerings in photovoltaic module materials, including backsheet films and encapsulants, will help accelerate adoption of new high efficiency solar cells that need to be packaged into modules to meet in-field performance requirements.
DuPont – one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals more than 20 years ago – has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.
DuPont (www.dupont.com) is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company’s strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects,” “indicates,” and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.
