Photovoltaics

We are the leading supplier of PET film used in the construction of halogen free back sheet material with over 50GW of installed capacity worldwide relying of the unique set of properties delivered by the Mylar^® UVHPET™ range of products.  The Mylar^® UVHPET™ range is the result of over 60 years’ experience of supplying Mylar^® PET films into highly demanding electrical insulation applications and 20 years of ongoing developments supporting the growth in the PV industry.  With zero reported field failures, our product testing protocols exceeds industry standards and is backed up by the ongoing monitoring of our products in real life applications across the globe.

Mylar^® UVHPET™ – Sustainability Without Compromise

• Exceptional UV barrier and hydrolysis resistance
• Extensive internal and external testing to mimic over 25 years of weathering including IEC, UL and MAST testing
• Halogen free ensuring safer and more sustainable end of life recycling
• Enhanced protection against scratching and abrasion in harsh climates such as deserts
• Range of optical properties including white, black and a new range of ultra clear films for bifacial modules
• Full range of thicknesses to cover mono and laminate solutions for 1000V and 1500V modules.

The Mylar^® UVHPET™ range remains the only proven alternative to fluorinated backsheets offering a lower cost, more sustainable alternative without compromising the durability or performance of PV modules

When it comes to polyester based backsheets, not all films are created equally. Too often in the PV industry generic PET films are referred to when talking about field failures which simply do not have the material properties needed to withstand the stresses seen in demanding back sheet applications. All Mylar^® UVHPET™ products offer enhanced UV barrier and hydrolysis resistance, and are extensively tested to ensure durability and reliability with a series of test protocols aimed at replicating the impact of weathering for more than 25 years in a variety of different climatic conditions.

Design for recycling and boosting circularity in the PV industry

Sustainability and the drive for circularity in the solar industry guides the development of our product range.  Mylar^® UVHPET™ offers significant advantages over both fluorinated back sheet and double glass modules in terms of the overall carbon footprint of the product.

However, it is at the end of the module’s life where the choice of back sheet material is most critical with fluorinated back sheet material presenting significant environmental and health issues in disposal processes such as incineration and pyrolysis. Mylar^® UVHPET™ is halogen free and does not generate hazardous materials in high temperature disposal processes.

Enabling the growth in bifacial modules

Building on the success of our white Mylar^® SPV range and black Mylar^® 250, the latest addition to the Mylar^® UVHPET™ portfolio of products is a range of ultra clear films designed to be used as outer, inner or mono layers in transparent back sheets. Transparent backsheets have a lower carbon footprint, are easier to clean and also can deliver a further efficiency gain of around 1% when compared to double glass modules. Bifacial modules are increasingly being adopted in areas with high ground albedos such as deserts, and the scratch and abrasion resistance of Mylar^® UVHPET™ compared to other backsheet material gives an added level of protection in these harsh environments.

We offer a wide range of engineered speciality films which are suitable for use in both rigid and flexible thin film photovoltaic modules, either as deposition substrates for the active layer or as the basis for high performance barrier layers. These films offer excellent dielectric strength and robust mechanical properties, and can be further enhanced via coatings, additives and process conditions to improve the environmental resistance and adhesion performance. Mylar^® PET and Melinex^® PET films are used in a wide range of thin film photovoltaic technologies including amorphous silicon, dye sensitised solar cells (DSSC), organic photovoltaics (OPV), perovskite-based systems and other emerging platforms.