Investigation of newly developed thermoplastic polyolefin encapsulant principle properties for the c-Si PV module application

Adothu, Baloji; Bhatt, Parth; Zele, Sarita; Oderkerk, Jeroen; Costa, Francis Reny; Mallick, Sudhanshu

doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.122660

Cited by 37 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…[23][24][25] Over the last 15 years, various approaches for developing materials to replace EVA have been undertaken, ranging from ionomers, 26,27 thermoplastic silicone elastomers (TPSEs), 28 silicone elastomers, 29,30 to polyethylene and polyethylene copolymers. [31][32][33][34][35] Earlier developments like the silicones, ionomers or first-generation polyethylene derivates either did not succeed to enter the market successfully or found use for certain niches like in the case for ionomers as encapsulation of double-glass copper-indium-galliumselenium (CIGS) modules. 36 Recently, different types of nextgeneration encapsulant films were introduced and could draw attention on the market.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…TPO films, however are thermoplastic elastomers, which exploit thermoreversible physical cross-links like ion bonds, hydrogen bonds or via crystallites. TPO films usually have melting temperatures around 100 C to ensure thermo-mechanical stability during operation 3,31,34 and allow for lamination times below 10 min 40 due to the lack of the time-consuming cross-linking process. Further major advantages of the new encapsulants compared to EVA are (i) the higher volume resistivity and (ii) the lower water vapour transmission rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[42][43][44] Even though these types of materials are already on the market since several years, only few publications are available describing the principal material properties of a certain encapsulant type relevant for lamination as well as the long-term behaviour during operation of the PV module. 31,34 But a broad comparison of properties and differences between EVA, TPO and POE has not been published yet. Table 1 summarizes the polymeric encapsulants and backsheets, which were investigated for the findings described in the paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Properties and degradation behaviour of polyolefin encapsulants for photovoltaic modules

Oreški

Omazic

Eder

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Various types of next-generation encapsulation films based on polyolefins have recently been introduced and could attract market attention. These material innovations can be classified as polyolefin elastomer (POE) and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) encapsulants, both of which consist of a polyethylene backbone with different side groups. The main advantage of these materials is the replacement of the vinyl acetate side groups of state-of-the-art encapsulant ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) so that acetic acid cannot be formed. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the material properties of next-generation encapsulant films and compare them to an EVA reference. Two commercially available EVA alternatives (POE and TPO) have been selected. The material properties of single films as well as the electrical performance of test modules using these different encapsulants were investigated. The different films show comparable optical, thermal and thermo-mechanical properties, with slight differences in UV transparency and melting temperatures. Only shear viscosity values are higher for TPO than for POE and EVA, which requires adaption of the photovoltaic (PV) module lamination parameters. The test modules comprising the different encapsulation films show minor differences in the electrical performance after manufacturing; upon accelerated aging, no significant power loss is observed. But compared to TPO or POE, after 3000 h of damp heat exposure, test modules with EVA show the beginning of corrosion effects at the silver grid and above the ribbons. Based on the results, it can be stated that the new polyolefin encapsulation materials show great potential to be a valid replacement for EVA.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Properties and degradation behaviour of polyolefin encapsulants for photovoltaic modules

Oreški

Omazic

Eder

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This also means that no byproducts are formed during lamination, which could lead to corrosion of the cell metallization and solder joints. Second, different authors reported a decrease in mechanical performance loss and discolouration as a result of photodegradation compared with EVA 22‐27 . TPOs are more transparent to ultraviolet (UV) light, making UV blockers unnecessary and making them more stable for solar applications.…”

Section: Encapsulant Materials Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three‐dimensional multi‐ribbon interconnection for back‐contact solar cells

Dyck

Borgers

Govaerts

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Back‐contact solar cells are an interesting technology with advantages over traditional two‐sided cells. A lack of standardized and low‐cost interconnection methods inhibits their market penetration. In an attempt to overcome this obstacle, this work introduces an interconnection technology, based on a fabric of encapsulant with incorporated metal ribbons. The encapsulant is tailored for this application by adding glass fibres to a thermoplastic polyolefin. For this tailored encapsulant, characterization experiments were conducted and results on viscosity and coefficient of thermal expansion are shown. Initial reliability testing on sample‐size modules with high‐efficiency interdigitated back‐contact (IBC) cells shows promising results, passing up to four times the IEC 61215 standard for thermal cycling.

show abstract

“…Recently, an interest in new encapsulant materials has increased to overcome the issues due to the use of EVA and new formulations have been tested. In particular, Thermoplastic Polyolefines (TPO) and Polyolefin Elastomers (POE) have been introduced as alternatives to EVA as encapsulants for PV applications [ 8 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. TPO and POE are polyethylene based materials, as well as EVA, but do not have vinyl acetate moieties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Degradation Behavior of Newly Developed Encapsulation Materials for Photovoltaic Applications under Different Artificial Ageing Tests

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main focus of this work is to investigate the degradation behavior of two newly developed encapsulants for photovoltaic applications (thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and polyolefin elastomer (POE)), compared to the most widely used Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) upon exposure to two different artificial ageing tests (with and without ultraviolet (UV) irradiation). Additive composition, optical and thermal properties and chemical structure (investigated by means of Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry, UV-Visible-Near Infrared spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Thermogravimetric Analysis and Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopy, respectively) of the analyzed polymers were monitored throughout the exposure to artificial ageing tests. Relevant signs of photo-oxidation were detectable for TPO after the UV test, as well as a depletion of material’s stabilizers. Signs of degradation for EVA and POE were detected when the UV dose applied was equal to 200 kW h m−2. A novel approach is presented to derive information of oxidation induction time/dose from thermogravimetric measurements that correlate well with results obtained by using oxidation indices.

show abstract

Investigation of newly developed thermoplastic polyolefin encapsulant principle properties for the c-Si PV module application

Cited by 37 publications

References 20 publications

Properties and degradation behaviour of polyolefin encapsulants for photovoltaic modules

Properties and degradation behaviour of polyolefin encapsulants for photovoltaic modules

Three‐dimensional multi‐ribbon interconnection for back‐contact solar cells

Comparison of Degradation Behavior of Newly Developed Encapsulation Materials for Photovoltaic Applications under Different Artificial Ageing Tests

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About