Queen’s Award for Enterprise Presented to DuPont for Increasing Energy Efficiency of Solar Cells

Her Majesty the Queen, head of state of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,has awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category to DuPont for the continuous development of DuPont Solamet photovoltaic metallization paste, a key component in increasing the energy efficiency of solar cells. The company has advanced the technology over a number of years – contributing to increasing the effectiveness of photovoltaic solar cell technology.

DuPont Solamet is the market leader for metallization paste and has been instrumental in the great gains in efficiency of solar power thereby making it more competitive with other means of electricity generation.

“Addressing energy needs is a global concern. The generation of renewable energy will be the fastest growing sector in the energy market for the next 20 years, and materials for photovoltaic applications are a critical success factor for sustainable growth,” said Ian Hudson, president – DuPont Europe, Middle East and Africa. “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 advances made by DuPont in the field of front- and back-side metallization contacts have resulted in significant efficiency gains for solar cell technology. In 1998, the efficiency of a crystalline silicon (c‑Si) solar cell was approximately 10 percent. Today, these cells operate at close to 16 percent for multi-crystalline wafers, and at greater than 18 percent for monocrystalline wafers; a rise in efficiency that is partly due to the performance offered by the metallizations DuPont has developed.

The fundamental qualities that Solamet brings to the market are the excellent low contact resistance formed with the silicon on firing and its fine line, high aspect ratio print resolution. These are essential to minimize series resistance and electrical losses, leading to a more efficient device.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise is the United Kingdom’s most prestigious award for business performance. The awards recognize and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies.

“DuPont is honored to receive this prestigious award that recognizes the company’s innovations to advance efficient and reliable generation of solar energy,” said Craig Oliver, director, Europe, Middle East and Africa – DuPont Microcircuit Materials. “Sustainable growth of the photovoltaic industry depends on technological advances continuing to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices, and ultimately reducing the cost per watt of solar power.”