Gimv and Capricorn Venture Partners both took a significant minor share in NovoPolymers, each investing EUR 1.5 million from their cleantech funds. This investment will fuel NovoPolymers’ start of production and commercialization of first product line NovoVellumTM.
By taking two strong partners on board, NovoPolymers further wants to further boost its R&D projects and accelerate the establishment of the industrial activities.
NovoPolymers is a Flanders based start-up, fully dedicated to develop and produce transparent polymer based films suitable for the encapsulation of photovoltaic cells into robust solar modules. To secure the functionality and efficiency of the solar cells for many years, the cells must be embedded in at least one or more transparent elastic polymer layers at point of module assembly. (Refer to Fig. 1). The module producer is also constantly on the outlook for better, cheaper and more efficient encapsulation materials trying to reduce cost and increase solar panel efficiency. NovoPolymers is addressing with its encapsulant products different of those requirements in this market.
Figure 1: Schematic build-up of a crystalline Silicon solar panel.
The key customers of NovoPolymers are the photovoltaic module producers, converting naked solar cells into a durable solar module that is the building block of solar power installations.
NovoPolymers has already two products ready to go to market that are in test at different leading European module makers. Next to that, NovoPolymers has a number of innovative products and polymers in its R&D pipeline. The headquarters, including R&D and first production site, will be in Aartselaar, Belgium. Within two years NovoPolymers expects to employ approximately 15 people. NovoPolymers foresees a strong growth and envisages also production activities abroad.
The developments in NovoPolymers are focusing on at least one or more of the following attributes: efficiency; durability; price; processability and recyclability of the modules as the latter more and more becomes a theme in the “cradle-to-cradle” approach that is currently being adopted in the spirit of a sustainable ecological economy.
“We have developed a first product family (NovoVellum™) that appears to be a hit. Next to cost effective films, we manage with our best formulation, to improve by 25% the production efficiency during module assembly, compared to best-in-class encapsulant films. This is significant for the module maker who is currently under a high price pressure and is going though the motion of a consolidation- professionalization-and automation wave. The module makers need focused innovative suppliers who, next to the development of cheaper transparent elastic films, proof also capable to develop and produce new innovative encapsulant products” according to Johan Declerck, CEO NovoPolymers.
“With NovoPolymers, we try to actively support the quest for substantial reduction of cost of power generated by a module, expressed in Euro per Watt peak (€/Wp). Cost isl mainly driven by expensive crystalline silicon solar cells. Yet, no doubt that the whole supply chain will have to contribute, from raw material supplier to system integrator by means of innovations and rationalizations to come to a cost reduction of the modules. This trend has started recently because within a couple of years the government subsidies, currently ruling in Europe, will gradually fade away. By that time the €/Wp must be that low to make sure that the investment in a new installation is still attractive enough, without the need for government subsidies.” says Koen Hasaers, COO NovoPolymers.
“We strongly believe in NovoPolymers’ story. All indicators suggest that after the financial crisis this industry will substantially further grow and professionalize. The demand for highly specialized dedicated suppliers, able to develop know-how and able to cope with high volume production will be crucial in the next decade. It is a very technical product where technical-sales and long-term customer-supplier relationships will make that only a few strong suppliers will play in this market. NovoPolymers has, according to us, the potential to become one of those players.” according to Bart Diels, Investment Director at GIMV.
“NovoPolymers could not start at a better moment. Now is the right time to create a technology- and production platform that will be just in time ready to cope with the next wave of growth in this sector, expected as of end 2010. Investing now in a dedicated innovative supplier to the photovoltaic industry is strategic “The Right Time”. Also we have noticed that NovoPolymers keeps an eye on the total PV market and is having also solutions for emerging PV technologies such as “Concentrator Photovoltaics” and “Organic Photovoltaics” , next to the classic crystalline silicon and “thin film” solar technologies. I do believe that NovoPolymers’ is set up sufficiently flexible to cope with this changing photovoltaic landscape.” says Paul Decraemer, Head Cleantech Investment Practice Capricorn.
Questions: e-mail or phone: info@novopolymers.be, Johan Declerck /+32 3 877 4536
For more information see: www.novopolymers.be