Capricorn invests in €3M funding of NovoPolymers

Funding

The Capricorn Cleantech Fund and GIMV have co-led the first round funding of NovoPolymers, putting in €1.5 million each, to enable the Flanders-based start-up to begin production and commercialisation of a transparent polymer for encapsulating photovoltaic cells.

To ensure the long-term functionality and efficiency of solar cells, they must be embedded in one or more transparent polymer layers at the time that they are assembled into solar panel modules. Module producers are constantly on the lookout for more durable, cheaper and efficient encapsulation materials, to reduce production costs and increase solar panel efficiency and lifetime.

“We have developed a first product family, NovoVellum, which appears to be resonating well with potential users,” said Johan Declerck, CEO of NovoPolymers. “Our novel way of formulating allows us to bring cost-effective films to the market, allowing module producers to reduce assembly times by 25 per cent.”

Within the next two years NovoPolymers expects to employ approximately 15 people. The headquarters, including R&D and the first production site, are in Aartselaar, Antwerp.

“NovoPolymers could not be starting-up at a better moment,” said Paul Decraemer, head of the Capricorn Cleantech Investment Practice. “It is now the right time to create a technology and production platform that will be ready in time to cope with the next wave of growth in this sector, which is expected as of the end of 2010.”

NovoPolymers is also developing solutions for emerging photovoltaic technologies such as concentrator and organic photovoltaics, alongside its product for encapsulating traditional crystalline silicon and thin film solar cells.

“I believe that the strategy of NovoPolymers is sufficiently flexible to cope with the changing photovoltaics landscape,” said Decraemer.