DOE taps DuPont for $9M solar research project
Summary
Science-oriented conglomerate DuPont has landed a $9 million partnership with the Department of Energy to conduct research into consumer-facing solar goods and components. That’s where DuPont comes in, to develop a unique protective covering said to be 3,000 times thinner than a human hair to fend off the elements and make thin-film even more commonplace. But the company says the program could boost its annual solar sales above $1 billion by 2012 depending on how fast development and commercialization progress. DuPont is yet another major American corporation taking up the green banner in earnest — even if cleantech hasn’t been its bread and butter (or even a consideration) in the past. Now it says it is more interested in creating products and systems to help others do the same (and of course to staking out what will inevitably become an lucrative segment of the growing green economy).