DSM Advanced Solar Launches New All-Purpose Endurance Backsheet

The Netherlands-based Royal DSM, a global science-based company with interests in nutrition, health and sustainable living, has launched the all-purpose Endurance backsheet D15, for the protection of a wide range of solar modules at a reasonable performance-cost ratio.

DSM introduced the Endurance backsheet D15 to help the industry follow the cost-down roadmap of lowering the LCOE of solar energy but without the need to sacrifice quality and performance.

“Built on the same successful co-extrusion technology platform as DSM’s existing B-series with their unique polyolefin strong core, this new addition to the Endurance backsheet portfolio delivers excellent protection and durability performance,” a company release stated.

DSM expects this grade to truly accelerate the introduction of co-extrusion technology in the market. The Endurance backsheet D15 is an all-purpose product for mainstream applications based on technology that has been delivered in the field for almost six years without a fault. It recently became the recipient of the world’s first integrated stress sequence accelerated ageing certificate, from industry-leading third-party testing and certification organisation, the Munich-based, TÜV SÜD.

This tough material evaluation stimulates natural conditions through a combination of damp heat ageing, ultraviolet aging, high-and-low temperature cycle ageing, and other sequences, and has been introduced during unprecedented backsheet failure in the industry. Some 16 per cent of all module failures are related to the backsheet component, according to the latest Global PV Reliability Report from DuPont. This adds up to an estimated $4.5 billion module investment at stake in 2020.

“Increasingly we are seeing and hearing from customers that traditional backsheet design has reached its limits and is no longer fit for purpose in the longer term,” says Pascal de Sain, Vice President of DSM Advanced Solar. “Extreme cost pressure has led to thinner backsheets, made from inferior PET-based materials with less and less fluoropolymer content. But our new Endurance backsheet D15 addresses this challenge by delivering outstanding module protection, based on industry-leading technology and affordably.”

The Endurance backsheet D15 is co-extruded in a single-step process with no adhesives needed. The result is a strong multi-material product, which also features the strongest core layer on the market, it is made from polyolefin instead of PET. This in turn enables the D15 backsheet to deliver excellent moisture protection and sand abrasion resistance coupled with outstanding mechanical, UV and chemical resistance.

In addition to enhancing performance, the Endurance backsheet D15 also benefits the planet. The product is produced via a completely transparent manufacturing process with full traceability of bill of materials. Furthermore, it delivers the same sustainability benefits as the rest of the Endurance backsheet family. Endurance backsheet D15 is completely fluorine-free with up to a 30 per cent lower carbon footprint than traditional equivalents and is fully recyclable with no production waste.