SKC makes active investments to gain the upper hand in the global PVDF film market


SKC will triple the size of its production facilities for PVDF films, core materials for solar cells, to increase production capacity from 1,200 tons to 4,000 tons in order to occupy 30 percent of the global market by 2012.

The 4,000 tons of PVDF films are equivalent to 7.5 gigawatts of electricity and account for 30 percent of the global solar cell market, which it is assumed will generate 26 gigawatts of electricity in 2013.



SKC aims to become the world No. 2 producer of PVDF films

The photovoltaic industry has grown and the demand for PVDF films has soared on the back of the support for new and renewable energy by governments around the world. Supply, however, cannot keep up with the rising demand. Building on its expertise in film production, SKC succeeded in the commercial production of PVDF films in 2009, and two years afterwards, the company is now set to emerge as a global leader in the PVDF film market by adding production facilities to generate an additional 2,800 tons of capacity.



SKC CEO Park Jang-suk said, “SKC is capable of emerging as a global leader in the materials industry for solar cells.” He added, “To be in line with the growth of the solar cell industry, we will make active investments.”


SKC is expected to become the world’s No. 2 producer of PVDF films, following DuPont, by mid-2012, when the construction of the additional facilities will be completed.



The global PVDF film market was worth 300 billion won last year and has grown more than 20 percent per annum



PVDF films protect breakable solar cells and can be used for more than 20 years. So they have to be weatherproof and durable. The American company DuPont has dominated the market for solar cell PVDF films for decades.



The global production of PVDF films in 2010 reached 6,000 tons or 300 billion won. With its global market growing more than 20 percent per annum, demand for the product is expected to reach 18,000 tons by 2015, heralding supply shortages. Foreign companies, which made an early entry into the market, enjoy a dominant position in technology, and SKC remains the sole Korean company that produces PVDF films. In this sense, the construction of additional facilities for PVDF films will facilitate the domestic production of core materials for solar cells as well as significantly contributing to boosting the competitiveness of the Korean photovoltaic industry.