Covestro solar coating plant in the Netherlands celebrates 10-year anniversary

Solar Coating Solutions' research and development teams recorded their first successes in 2005 with the development of a new and innovative anti-reflective coating that can be used in various applications. Around 2010, the solar industry started to develop worldwide and became a business opportunity with a huge market demand and growth potential. This was the catalyst for the decision to establish a dedicated solar glass coating production facility in the Netherlands, more specifically at Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen. As the photovoltaic industry grows globally, the Solar Coatings business unit has also aligned itself with this, establishing teams in China and the USA. The Dutch plant is now the largest independent manufacturer outside China. In addition, the product portfolio for solar glass coatings has evolved over the past decade from a "one-size-fits-all" solution to a highly diversified offering.

Robert von Beulwitz, Managing Director of Solar Coating Solution, explains, ʺToday we offer, among other things, combined anti-reflective and anti-soiling coatings for modules used in desert environments, high-performance coatings for large solar farms, and special aesthetic coatings for a pitch-black appearance of solar modules on house roofs - especially in the Netherlands. Our latest innovation is the development and marketing of a retrofit coating for older solar installations. As the industry and our portfolio expanded, so did our employee base, and I would like to thank each and every one of these colleagues for the tireless effort they put in every day!ʺ "All of these different solar coating products have been developed in the Netherlands, taking into account the needs of the end-user market around the world. And they are all manufactured by employees at our production facility on the Brightlands Campus in Geleen. I am very proud of this story of how - from the Netherlands - we are strengthening solar energy and getting more energy from the sun," adds Aukje Doornbos, managing director of Covestro in the Netherlands.