JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017 - 57

solar energy SOLUTlONS

Ultra-light photovoltaic panel based on
polyamide honeycomb technology
Armageddon Energy, EconCore and DuPont joined forces to create a new lightweight
polymer solar panel, which is one-third the weight of a standard glass solar panel while
being significantly more rugged and resistant to damage than standard panels.

T

he
high-performance
solar panel and the global
team that developed it
represent combined innovations
in materials, manufacturing
and product design, all focused
on delivering new and better
products to commercial and
residential customers in solar.
70 to 80% lower weight
The key advantages of the
Armageddon solar panel design
include 70 to 80% lower weight,
minimal need for cleaning,
greatly improved resistance to
typical kinds of damage suffered
by solar panels, and unique
adaptiveness to challenging
applications.
Underlying these advantages
is a thermoplastic honeycomb

sandwich panel technology
developed by EconCore N.V. in
Belgium. The substrate is an exceptionally strong, lightweight
polyamide (DuPont™ Zytel®)
honeycomb material that is
produced continuously and
can be in-line laminated with
skin layers (DuPont™ Vizilon®)
to deliver a cost-effective sandwich product uniquely suited to
high-volume production. The
potential of a lightweight, durable solar panel is simply huge
and this development opens up
new markets and application
perspectives, including those
beyond photovoltaics.
DuPont Performance Materials
provides an exceptionally strong
and durable version of its Vizilon®
thermoplastic composite to
reinforce the substrate, as well as
a tough Zytel® polyamide resin
for the honeycomb core. The

Focus
Armageddon Energy is the developer of the SolarClover,
a modular solar energy system that features unique
high-performance hexagonal solar panels and a rapid-assembly triangular rack. The SolarClover features
lightweight, breakage-resistant hexagonal solar panels
and easy to assemble, exceptionally stable triangular
racks. The system is designed to be installed by
non-specialists like electricians, roofers and general
contractors using the tools and training they already
possess. With a basic system size of 1-kW AC, the
system is designed primarily to offset expensive peak
electricity demand and improve grid stability.

The SolarClover modular solar energy system

company has a big footprint in
solar with products like DuPont™
Tedlar® backsheet films and
Solamet® metallization pastes,
and is delighted to add this
unique application of Vizilon®
thermoplastic composites to that
portfolio. DuPont is uniquely
positioned to understand just
how large the growth potential
is for solar and what hurdles
need to be removed for this
growth to happen.
High-performance
solar panels
Armageddon Energy, a developer
of high-performance solar panels
and systems, was awarded a JEC
Innovation Award for this PV
honeycomb sandwich panel
development, together with their
partners EconCore and DuPont
N°116 October 2017

Performance Polymers.
The company has been investing
through multiple product
generations in new materials and
novel designs to help expand
the market for solar and those
who have access to it, and they
could not be more pleased to be
supported by an industry that is
critical to helping them realize
that vision. Considering that almost 2 billion people worldwide
have limited access to electricity,
solar is ideally suited to meeting
their needs economically.
The Innovation Award was
presented at JEC's Future of
Composites in Construction
show in Chicago (20-22 June
2017).
More information:
www.plastics.dupont.com
www.econcore.com
www.armageddonenergy.com

/ jec composites magazine

57
http://www.plastics.dupont.com http://www.econcore.com http://www.armageddonenergy.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017
