DuPont to build new facilities in China for solar

Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont (NYSE: DD) announced today that it's boosting its solar capacity, with plans to build new facilities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China.

The chemical maker said it would soon begin construction on a research center in Hong Kong and a manufacturing facility in Shenzhen to support what it called a "rapidly growing" photovoltaic solar energy industry.

DuPont did not disclose the cost of the new facilities.

"Through investments in materials, technology development and manufacturing, DuPont is accelerating its ability to deliver innovations that will improve the lifetime and efficiency of photovoltaic modules, and also have enough production capability to help keep pace with the fast rising global demand," said David Miller, group VP of DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies.

The company, which said it has long been a supplier of materials primarily serving the crystalline silicon cell and module markets, said the expansions in China would provide new offerings to serve the amorphous silicon thin film market.

DuPont said it expects growth in the photovoltaic market to exceed 30 percent in each of the next several years, and it said the the growth rate for thin film is projected to be approximately twice as high as demand for crystalline silicon.

The company said it plans "significant" further investment for both crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon markets, including further capacity expansions for DuPont Tedlar film and Solamet thick film metallization paste.

Cleantech developments making news in the past 24 hours

• Honeywell turbocharges China
• So Super it’s unreal?
• Hyundai Heavy Industries enters wind business
• Harvesting hydrogen from steel
• Hybrid rice developed for salty land
• DuPont Danisco starts work on Tennessee biorefinery
• Report calls for forest preservation

View the last week of cleantech developments here | Subscribe to full feed