Solutia to expand solar presence in China

Solutia plans to expand current operations at its Suzhou, China facility by late 2011. The expansion seeks to include additional production lines supporting Vistasolar® ethylene vinyl acetate or EVA encapsulant.  This capacity expansion follows an earlier announcement by Solutia to expand the Suzhou facility to include the production of EVA encapsulants.

"The photovoltaic market has seen tremendous growth in 2010, and the majority of photovoltaic module production is in Asia," said Tim Wessel, president and general manager of Solutia's Advanced Interlayers division. "We continue to invest to meet growing demand and provide cost-effective solar encapsulant solutions in the greater Asia-Pacific region and around the world."

Solutia's Vistasolar encapsulants, currently manufactured in Dietenheim, Germany, include ultrafast-curing EVA films as well as new thermoplastic polyurethane  films, which do not require curing. Solutia also manufactures Saflex® polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers, used to encapsulate thin film photovoltaic solar cells, providing outstanding processability and durability.


"Solutia provides module manufacturers quality, high-performance encapsulants, supported by its manufacturing scale and expertise to control costs, while continuing to meet the demands of this fast-growing industry," added Wessel.