Dow Granted Patents for PV Encapsulant Films Used in Solar Panels

Dow, Midland, Mich., has been granted U.S. and EU device patents for the use of encapsulant films in PV modules. The patents cover electronic devices having polyolefin (PO) encapsulant films with certain commercially important physical, mechanical, and compositional properties.

The specific patents granted to the company include U.S. Patent Nos. 8,581,094 and 8,592,679, along with EU Patent No. 2067175, covering countries including Germany and Great Britain. In addition to its U.S. and EU patents, it previously was granted similar patents in China, No. CN 101517750 B and Philippines, No. PH 12009500505B1 and has additional patents pending in several countries.

ENLIGHT™ PO encapsulant films enable PV modules to sustain zero energy loss from potential induced degradation (PID). The company says this results in increased energy yield, improved reliability, and better short- and long-term performance of PV modules overall. The PO films also can reduce lamination cycle times during module production and reduced module degradation from corrosion and yellowing.