IMRE's new polymer brings companies closer to cheaper plastic solar cells

(Nanowerk) -- IMRE has developed a new polymer that not only produces a high charge mobility of 0.2 cm2/V.s, which is the same value achieved by commercially available semiconducting materials but also has a high solar power conversion efficiency of 6.3%. This makes IMRE's polymer one of the few that has both these properties. In addition to this, polymers of the same class as IMRE's, which are those that use thiophene and benzothiadiazole as the building blocks, could only achieve 2.2% power conversion.

The polymer can also be easily applied in roll-to-roll printing techniques which is similar to how newspapers are currently printed making it possible to manufacture large area-scale printed electronics and organic solar cells quickly and cheaply.

With IMRE's polymer, manufacturers could save cost using just a single bulk resource for making both printed electronics and organic solar cells. The material could also possibly be used in designing new devices where both power harnessing and electronics are needed in a single component. An example of this would be chemical sensors based on organic thin-film transistors and powered by organic solar cells.

The IMRE team is developing other organic materials-based polymers that can be scaled up to production and integrated easily into organic electronics. These materials can be used to make energy harvesting and low-power consumption devices like low-cost organic solar cells, new flexible display

MRC

(PlastEurope) -- Making its first foray into the biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film market, India's SRF has ordered a new 8.7 metre wide BOPP line from Germany's Bruckner. The new EUR 40m line will be located in Durban / South Africa.

SRF claims to be India's second largest thin PET film manufacturer, with overall capacity for 60 KTa. The group operates plants manufacturing technical textiles in Dubai / United Arab Emirates, Port Elizabeth / South Africa and Rayong / Thailand. Over the past four years, the group has invested roughly EUR 200m into expandings its Technical Fabrics, Chemicals & Polymers and Packaging Films business units.

MRC

(PlastEurope) -- Leading international beer brands Heineken and Amstel are now available in four litre PET kegs in The Netherlands. The new ⌠Tapje small draft-beer system was developed together with APPE, formerly Artenius PET Packaging, a member of Spanish PET giant La Seda de Barcelona, which supplies the kegs. The breweries plan to launch the new system in other countries as well.

The PET container is said to be an innovative cost-effective alternative to traditional beer crates. It features APPE's ⌠monoBLOX barrier technology with oxygen scavengers, which guarantee a robust container with what the Wrexham-based company calls ⌠superior barrier performance that protects the integrity of the beer by keeping out oxygen whilst keeping in the carbonation. Once open, the beer reportedly remains fresh for 30 days.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Alfa Laval - a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling - has received an order to supply Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchangers to a petrochemical plant in Singapore. The order value is about SEK 110 million and delivery is scheduled for 2012.

The Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchangers will be used in a catalytic processing section for production of mixed Xylenes, which is, among other things, used for PET bottles and synthetic nylons. "We continue to see a good demand for our energy efficient Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchangers. This latest order also confirms the continued positive development of the process industry in Asia", says Lars Renstrom, President and CEO of the Alfa Laval Group.

MRC

(Plastics Today) -- Recent announcements by global automakers regarding investments in Indonesia paint a bright picture for the local processing scene given commitments to local sourcing. General Motors (Detroit) is the latest to throw its hubcap into the ring with plans to invest USD 150 million to restart its assembly operation at Bekasi, West Java, that has been idle since early 2005.

GM reports it will begin assembling seven-seater minivan at the plant in 2013. Initial capacity will be about 40,000 units per year for distribution throughout Southeast Asia. The plant will join a GM manufacturing network with existing plants in Thailand and Vietnam. Among the factors behind the restart are an expanding middle class and improving macroeconomic conditions.

Localization of as many vehicle parts as possible is reportedly an important component of GM's plans for Indonesia. A target of at least 40% has been set for local content.

Toyota Motor (Aichi) is also bullish in developments in Indonesia, announcing in May this year its plan to expand capacity at its Karawang Plant from 100,000 vehicles to 140,000 vehicles by early 2013.

MRC