DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions (DPVS) has announced the commercialisation of the first building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules to take advantage of new DuPont PV5300 Series encapsulant sheets made of a clear, supertough ionomer.

System Photonics SpA from Italy calls its new “Roof Collection” BIPV solar tiles an elegant new choice for adding aesthetically appealing, built-in photovoltaic power generation when roofing or reroofing.
The Roof Collection solar tiles use new DuPont PV5300 Series encapsulant to improve module strength, durability and cost-per-watt efficiency. Ionomers, used in making the encapsulatnt sheets, are thermoplastic polymers. The BIPV roofing tiles are manufactured for easy installation and long-lasting power production.
“Our technical focus is crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic power generation, in durable roofing tiles that mount directly to the structural framing,” said System Photonics CEO Gianluca Aiazzi. “Because it's a high-volume application, our strategy was to reduce module labour costs through advanced automation, and then seek further cost-per-watt efficiencies and module manufacturing advantages through ongoing materials science.”
System Photonics' roofing tiles feature power generating cells embedded between two 35-mil sheets of clear DuPont PV5300 Series encapsulant, mounted onto individual ceramic tiles about 1 meter wide. The BIPV roofing tiles are topped with low-iron glass, also held in place by the new encapsulant.
The completed assembly is pressed together and heat-sealed using automated vacuum laminators with robotic feeds. The new ionomer-based encapsulant has been instrumental in designing the manufacturing process for speed, reliability and efficiency.
Attilio Russo, chief technology officer for System Photonics, guided development of the new design after discovering a stiffer safety glass interlayer product called DuPont SentryGlas. Follow up discussions with DuPont identified that similar benefits could be gained in photovoltaics from using DuPont PV5300 encapsulant sheets, which are five times tougher and up to 100 times stiffer than the PVB and EVA sheets more commonly used as encapsulants.
“We needed a material that could add to module strength and support automated sheet handling equipment,” explains Russo. “The encapsulant needed to be easily managed and aligned across all steps of the production process. Other encapsulant sheets were too floppy and elastic, making them hard to handle; so we immediately saw production speed advantages with the DuPont PV5300 sheet.”
System Photonics designed its “Roof Collection” tiles with open, frameless edges for architectural elegance and simplicity. “Compared with other encapsulants we tested, the stiffer DuPont PV5300 ionomer sheet also made modules more impact-resistant and much more durable in weather-exposed open edges,” notes Russo.