GELEEN, the Netherlands - DSM Advanced Surfaces has signed license and supply agreements with Interfloat Corp., a solar glass producer. This opens the way for Interfloat to start producing cover glass for solar modules coated with KhepriCoat™, a high-transmission/anti-reflective (AR) coating from DSM Advanced Surfaces.

By using DSM’s technology on Interfloat’s solar-cover glass, module manufacturers in Europe will be able to improve the efficiency of their solar panels. The KhepriCoat technology will be taken into production at Interfloat’s solar glass plant in Tschernitz, Germany. The transfer of know-how and technology and the installation of the coating equipment are expected to be completed by August, when Interfloat will start production.

A KhepriCoat layer on solar cover glass reduces the amount of sunlight reflected, thereby allowing more of it to pass through to the solar cells. This significantly boosts the sunlight conversion rate of solar modules: the typical daily improvement in module efficiency is in the range of 3-4 percent for photovoltaic (PV) modules and 6-8 percent for solar thermal modules. DSM licenses its KhepriCoat know-how and technology to selected glass producers and glass processors, producing the coating formulation in-house for direct supply to its licensees.

The PV industry is growing in double-digit figures. In 2010, the size of the market more than doubled. One important driver of this growth is the continued reduction in the cost of converting solar energy. The use of AR coatings is contributing significantly to improvements in module efficiency, which in turn helps make solar energy more competitive compared with energy produced from fossil fuels. With the AR coating KhepriCoat, DSM is answering this market need.