Chinaplas preview: China's solar policy drives performance resin opportunities

Domestic demand elevated China to the third biggest solar module market globally in 2011 and China's 12th Five-Year Plan targets increasing photovoltaic (PV) installations further to 10-15 GW by 2015, and 50 GW by 2020.

These targets are ambitious given China installed "only" 2.75 GW of capacity in 2011 according to market watcher NPD Solarbuzz (San Francisco, CA), which is expecting installations to double in 2012 to around 5 GW. Whatever, the case, China has already emerged as the largest global manufacturer of solar panels, with five of the top ten PV module suppliers now based on the mainland.

It comes as no surprise, then, that global performance resin suppliers see the solar sector as a promising market in China. Solvay Specialty Polymers (Bollate, Italy), for example, is building a 120 million Euros ($157.4 million) production plant for fluorinated polymers and elastomers at the company's site in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, which will be operational by mid-2014. It will significantly boost Solvay's global production capacity and meet the growing demand for these specialty polymers in Asia for end-use markets such as PV, auto, Li-ion batteries, and oil & gas applications.

Solvay Group company Rhodia Engineering Plastics (Paris La Défense), meanwhile, operates a polyamide (PA) 66 compounding plant in Shanghai. "Rhodia's Technyl [PA 66] flame-retardant range fully meets the technical, regulatory and cost-performance requirements necessary to PV component manufacture," says James Mitchell, Global Fire Resistance Business Manager for Rhodia Engineering Plastics. "Technyl Halogen-Free photovoltaic grades guarantee UV resistance and long-term weatherability, very good electrical performance and low temperature ductibility, ideal for junction boxes and connectors."

Complementary products for PV end-use from Solvay Specialty Polymers include Halar ethylene-chlorotrifluororthylene (ECTFE) copolymer for front-sheet films, which ensure durable and optimal light transmission, and Halar ECTFE and Solef polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for back-sheet laminates offering moisture barrier hydrolysis  protection, long-term weatherability and UV stability. Further, Cogegum GFR polyolefin elastomer (POE) and Polidiemme thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) cross-linkable halogen-free flame retardant materials are suited for PV cabling, offering high fire and tear resistance, as well as excelled UV resistance and extended weatherability.

In other developments, the separate Solvay Specialty Polymers and Rhodia Engineering Plastics research and development facilities in Shanghai will be combined into a newly constructed world-class R&D center at Rhodia's campus in the Xinzhuang industrial zone. The center will incorporate polymer formulation and pilot injection processing capabilities, and a UL-certified lab to help speed up introduction of flame retardant compounds. A team is also in place for simulation and design. "The UL certification of our Shanghai laboratory provides an important competitive advantage in meeting the rapid growth of the Chinese PV market," notes Rhodia's Mitchell.

Specialty resin compounding

Further, a new 21 million Euro ($27.5 million) compounding plant will come on stream in the summer of 2012 in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China, months ahead of schedule. The facility will be expandable in terms of both overall capacity and for other high performance engineering and fluorinated polymers.

Initially, the plant will compound Amodel polyphthalamide (PPA), Ixef polyarylamide (PARA), and Kalix modified PARA polymers primarily for electronics and automotive applications Three compounding lines will operate at the site with combined capacity of 15,000 tonnes/year, while the plant building can house up to 11 lines.

Commenting on the large capacity addition, Solvay (Shanghai) Executive Vice President and Head of Specialty Polymers Maurizio Gastaldi noted that part of the capacity would be for products previously sourced through toll compounding agreements, particularly technically sensitive products.-[email protected]