Both EVA and POE have benefits and drawbacks in the realm of photovoltaics. EVA has excellent bonding performance with glass and backplane, is less expensive, simple to produce, resistant to storage, and has a quick cross-linking speed. PID resistance and good material qualities are the key benefits of POE. Outstanding features include low temperature resistance, high resistivity, a high water vapor barrier rate, and resistance to yellowing.
The primary drawback of EVA is its susceptibility to hydrolysis in light, oxygen, humid, and hot environments. This results in the production of acetic acid, which corrodes battery cells, solder ribbons, and other components. Additionally, EVA reacts with Na in glass to generate a significant amount of freely moving Na ions, which attenuates power. In addition, EVA is susceptible to yellowing in light and heat environments, which reduces light transmittance and increases the component’s overall power loss.
One of POE’s drawbacks is its low polarity. The polar additive solvent precipitates to the film surface during the processing process, making the surface smooth and easily shifted; processing complexity is relatively high, and the film lip is easily accessible for material hanging; POE particles are more expensive overall than EVA particles. The application proportion of POE particles in film particles is expected to increase during the next several years, mostly due to the following factors:
1. N-type batteries: The doped boron-oxygen complex of P-type batteries in the silicon wafer will cause the potential to decay faster. On the other hand, the upper limit of the conversion efficiency of N-type batteries is higher. N-type batteries are mixed with scale and have better anti-attenuation performance. P-type batteries’ current photoelectric conversion efficiency is close to the upper limit of 24.5%. N-type batteries have a more sensitive PID impact on the surface that receives light. After the light is restored, N-type components with significant PID attenuation will likewise result in permanent damage. Simultaneously, the backplane exhibits inadequate water vapor barrier characteristics when N-type batteries are packed with a single piece of glass. As a result, selecting POE film for packaging can decrease the module’s overall water vapor transfer rate and increase its usable life. Consequently, encouraging N-type batteries may result in a rise in the usage of POE.
2. Large-scale battery power: Different battery component types have seen considerable power improvements and an increase in heat generation in recent years. The temperature greatly affects the packing materials since it will have a bigger effect on the battery’s peak power, open circuit voltage, and other electrical characteristics. The standards for electrical performance are rising steadily.
3. The number of double-glass components is rising while cover glass is decreasing: CPIA data indicates that there are currently three different glass thickness levels: <2.5mm, 2.8mm, and 3.2mm. Of these, glass cover plates with a thickness of <2.5mm make up 32% of the market, and by 2025, that percentage is predicted to rise to almost 50%. Glass thinning will result in ever-higher performance standards for packaging materials. POE is robust and mechanically strong.
The benefits of POE and EVA can be combined in EPE film, which is a significant avenue for future film development. Furthermore, POE’s superior material qualities offer a wide range of applications in the manufacturing of machinery, cars, hot melt adhesives, wires and cables, and shoe sole materials.
Coace ® R1120 is a chemical functionalized ethylene copolymer to be used as modifier in photovoltaic encapsulant film.To improve adherence to different substrates and increase compatibility with other encapsulant materials, the copolymer is subjected to a chemical modification procedure that introduces particular functional groups.The modified copolymer keeps an excellent optical transparency, which enables the solar cells to receive light efficiently. This feature optimizes energy conversion and raises the photovoltaic system’s overall efficiency.