Low-carbon, flexible photovoltaic films to be produced

25th October 2016

Armor Group

Alice Matthews

0 0

After six years of technological partnership with the major names of the global chemical industry and an investment of €40m, the French midmarket company ARMOR is ready to launch industrial production of a generation of photovoltaic material, designed and manufactured in France. Called ASCA, this 'low-carbon' product is part of the Beautiful Light Project.

ASCA is a 3^rd generation material that paves the way for a vast array of industrial applications. It will be custom made by ARMOR’s teams in La Chevrolière, near Nantes.

ARMOR has achieved this innovation thanks to its expertise in the coating of thermal transfer ribbons for bar-code printing. Through their expert knowledge of this manufacturing process, in which they are the leader, producing over a billion m²/year, ARMOR has managed to make the necessary adaptations to mass-produce a competitive, flexible, organic photovoltaic film. The creation of ASCA film has been possible thanks to an investment in R&D and equipment of €40 million, since 2010, as well as a multidisciplinary team of 30 PhDs, engineers and technicians.

Establishing a global scientific and manufacturing network
To ensure the success of the project, ARMOR has developed partnerships with leading centres for research and industry in the world. ARMOR has also surrounded itself with prestigious partners. ARMOR has also brought on board many world experts in electronic materials and new energy technologies, as well as experts in coating and encapsulation processes.

This innovation results in an energy efficient manufacturing process which does not use silicon or any rare or toxic resources. ASCA has also the advantage of being fully recycleable, making it a virtuous component and demonstrating once again ARMOR’s attention to the entire life cycle of its products.