BioSolar™, Inc. (OTCBB: BSRC) announced that the company’s backsheet material has successfully completed the demanding Damp Heat Test, which brings the materials one step further in obtaining the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification.
The Damp Heat Test ascertains to the products ability to withstand year of exposure in an outdoor environment without breaking down. The procedure tests the material up to 1000 hours at 85 degrees and 85% humidity. The completion of the test occurred on January 16, 2008.
The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Stanley Levy, said “We are pleased to report our backsheet materials have passed this test, which is one of the most severe tests included in the UL 1703 protocol. We will analyze these results to focus in on the most promising candidate for final production certification.”
Currently, SBM Solar of Concord, NC, a strategic partner in BioSolar, is in the final stages of obtaining UL certification for their polymer packaged PV module. When the certification is received, SBM will go ahead and submit additional modules to Underwriters Laboratories for UL approval, changing their standard backsheet material to BioSolar’s bio-based backsheet. With only replacing one component, that being the photovoltaic backsheet from BioSolar, SBM anticipates a faster than normal approval process.
Dr. David Lee, BioSolar’s President and Chief Executive Officer, provided additional insight into BioSolar’s approach to the company’s “fast track” process saying, “UL approval is an extremely demanding process. It can take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain UL approval for a photovoltaic module. Our ‘fast track’ process is expected to dramatically shorten the time it takes for the first solar module maker, our partner SBM Solar, to obtain UL approval with our backsheet.”
BioSolar, Inc. engages in the research and development of bioplastic materials from renewable plant sources for use in photovoltaic solar cells. The company develops bio-based plastics components that meet the thermal and durability requirements of solar cell manufacturing processes for conventional crystalline cell designs, as well as thin film photovoltaic devices in an effort to capitalize on cost advantages to current petroleum based solar cell components.
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