SABIC Innovative Plastics Advances Solar Panel Technology with New Energy Center of Excellence

Düsseldorf, Germany – Oct. 24, 2007 – As part of SABIC Innovative Plastics’ accelerating investments in new application and market development, the company today announced the creation of a new Energy Center of Excellence at the company’s European headquarters in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands. The new facility, an expansion of SABIC Innovative Plastics’ existing Fluid Engineering Center of Excellence and part of the company’s Global Application Technology (GApT) organization, aims to help customers use lightweight, high-performance thermoplastics to replace heavy and increasingly costly copper, aluminum, steel, and glass in thermal and photovoltaic solar panels. The center is equipped with leading edge design, molding, and testing equipment, and is staffed by engineers, materials scientists, and application development experts, to help customers utilize the latest in advanced thermoplastic technologies for the mass production of solar panels. SABIC Innovative Plastics’ goal is to be a major contributor in making solar energy for heating and electricity a practical and continuously more affordable option.

“Our goal is to drive growth in the solar energy industry,” said Frank Heessels, leader of SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Fluid Engineering Center of Excellence. “Governing bodies, such as the European Union (EU), are increasingly setting ambitious goals for using solar energy in order to reduce the use of fossil fuels and address growing environmental concerns. SABIC Innovative Plastics’ new energy center will play a key role in this area by helping to develop new, higher performing, lower-cost thermoplastic materials and new systems for our customers. New designs using these materials will be optimized for customers for mass production to help to accelerate the growth of the ‘new energy’ sector.”

The Center of Excellence builds on the experience SABIC Innovative Plastics has gained in developing large automotive parts like fenders and glazing, and on the resources of the Fluid Engineering Center of Excellence. The intent is to utilize SABIC Innovative Plastics’ high-performance materials – such as the Noryl* Lexan* and Ultem* resin portfolios – in advanced designs and systems to meet demanding performance challenges where other materials find it difficult to compete. These include climate and weathering performance, long-term hot water and overheating resistance, and optical efficiency. Other SABIC Innovative Plastics’ products, such as UV resistant Lexan multi-wall sheet, are also being evaluated.

Technology highlights of the Energy Center of Excellence include: