BASF Ultramid: The Prospects and Material advantages of the PV industry in the global energy transition

一、Introduction

With the increasing demand for renewable energy, the global energy transition is in full swing. The PV industry is at the forefront of this transformation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the global PV installation will continue to grow in the coming years. This growth is accompanied by more diverse application scenarios and the acceleration of high - power and high - voltage applications.

二、 Cost reduction in the PV industry

Increasing the voltage at the system end is an important way to reduce the cost of the photovoltaic industry chain. After comprehensively considering factors such as operation and maintenance, safety regulations, and components, 2000 volts is considered a suitable voltage level. Compared with the 1500 - volt system, the overall power generation efficiency under the 2000 - volt system can be increased by about 1%.

三、 Requirements for high - voltage components

Higher voltage means higher requirements for the electrical insulation withstand voltage of components and their materials. Connectors play a crucial role in the electrical connection between components, inverters, combiner boxes, and controllers in the photovoltaic power generation system, ensuring safe and efficient electricity transmission.

四、 Material advantages of Polyamide Ultramid A3XZG5 R04

Among the connector materials currently in use (such as PC, mPPO, and PA66), BASF Ultramid A3XZG5 R04 has a ramp tracking index (IPT) of up to 2000 volts and a relative tracking index (CTI) of 600 volts. Its excellent electrical insulation withstand voltage and low - temperature impact performance meet the 2000 - volt certification requirements of UL and TUV. In addition, after long - term damp heat aging, this product still maintains good electrical insulation withstand voltage, which can ensure the long - term safe operation of the high - voltage system in complex environments, help customers reduce overall operation and maintenance costs, and is an ideal choice for connectors of the 2000 - volt high - voltage system.

Ultramid A3XZG5 R04 not only performs outstandingly in electrical insulation withstand voltage but also has leading - level performance in chemical resistance, weather resistance, hydrolysis resistance, and comprehensive mechanical properties. That is to say, it can be applied to various different types of scenarios.

The test conditions and results of salt spray resistance show that the elongation at break of A3XZG5 remains at 80%, far higher than that of PC and mPPO.

Chemical and heat resistance

Polyamide Ultramid A3XZG5 R04 is superior to other common amorphous materials in the photovoltaic system, such as polycarbonate (PC) and modified polyphenylene oxide (mPPO). It has excellent chemical resistance, weather resistance, hydrolysis resistance, and comprehensive mechanical properties. This makes it suitable for various different scenarios, whether it is outdoor distributed photovoltaic projects like agricultural photovoltaic complementation and fishery photovoltaic complementation, photovoltaic building integration, and photovoltaic highways, or centralized photovoltaic power stations in deserts and saline - alkali lands.

Salt spray resistance

The salt spray resistance test results show that the elongation at break of A3XZG5 remains at 80%, far higher than that of polycarbonate (PC) and modified polyphenylene oxide (mPPO). This indicates its excellent tolerance to harsh environmental conditions.