To address the needs for the fast-growing photovoltaic (PV) market, DuPont has opened the Meyrin PV Application Laboratory at its European Technical Center in Geneva. More than 50 representatives from the PV industry joined government leaders and Ellen Kullman, DuPont chair and chief executive officer, and Ian Hudson, president – DuPont Europe, Middle East and Africa, for the facility’s opening. 

“Addressing energy needs is a global concern. The generation and storage of renewable energy will be the fastest growing sector in the energy market for the next 20 years,” said Kullman at the opening. “We can apply the power of our market-driven science to offer products and technologies that can transform the sun’s potential into clean energy, contributing to decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.” 

The lab will operate as an open center, enabling technological exchanges and research collaborations between the company and customers, industrial partners, institutes and academia. It is designed to advance state-of-the-art solar module design, accelerate time to market in PV innovation and deliver cost-effective, high-performance solutions for the industry.

DuPont anticipates that the PV market will grow by about 30 percent in 2010 and will continue to grow rapidly over the next three years. The company’s sales in this area exceeded $500 million in 2009, and it expects overall sales of its family of products into the PV industry will exceed $1 billion by 2012. 

“At DuPont, responding to the sustainability challenges often involves looking at where different science and capabilities intersect,” Hudson said. “The new Meyrin PV Application Lab will allow us to collaborate more closely with our customers in the PV industry, to provide local technical support and to develop the next generation of products for the global PV market.”

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