DuPont and Yingli Green Energy Enter $100 Million Strategic Agreement

Commitment to Supply Growing Solar Market Underscores Aim to Reduce Global Dependence on Fossil Fuels

News provided by

Feb 13, 2012, 04:06 ET

WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DuPont and Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited ("Yingli China") have signed a $100 million strategic agreement for photovoltaic materials aimed at accelerating the adoption of solar energy to address one of the world's biggest challenges -- reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Yingli China is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited ("Yingli"), a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers.

The agreement was signed in a ceremony today in Washington, D.C., which was organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Commerce People's Republic of China, and hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Under the terms of the agreement, Yingli will purchase photovoltaic materials including DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes used in solar modules and protective backsheet for solar modules made with DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film.

"At Yingli, we have a long-standing commitment to global social responsibility to make solar energy an affordable option for everyone," said Liansheng Miao, chairman and chief executive officer, Yingli. "The agreement we have signed with DuPont assures our supply of critical, high-quality materials and our continued collaboration on further technological advances to optimize the performance of our solar modules, which illustrates our mission to be a cost leader and provide the best product to customers at the same time."

"This agreement expands a current commercial relationship between DuPont and Yingli into a more strategic relationship with long-term benefit to both companies, and to end users of solar energy," said David B. Miller, president, DuPont Electronics & Communications. "Materials are key to solar module performance, and DuPont continues to advance the science behind them. They help increase efficiency, extend the lifetime of modules, and, ultimately, help reduce overall system costs to make solar increasingly more competitive with other forms of energy generation."

According to industry estimates, over the next five years, 20 percent average annual growth is expected in solar installations globally.

DuPont achieved about $1.4 billion in sales to the photovoltaic market in 2011, and has set a goal to reach $2 billion in sales by 2014, based on continued, strong demand for its products.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), which markets its products under the brand "Yingli Solar," is a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the entire photovoltaic value chain, from the production of polysilicon through ingot casting and wafering, to solar cell production and module assembly. For more information, please visit http://www.yinglisolar.com.

DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallizations and Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride films are part of a broad and growing portfolio of products represented by DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, which connects science and technology from across the company on a global scale to help support the dramatic growth in the photovoltaic industry. To learn more about DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, visit http://photovoltaics.dupont.com.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.

The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Solamet® and Tedlar® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.

Photo of Agreement Signing:
http://www2.dupont.com/Photovoltaics/en_US/assets/images/gallery/DuPont_Yingli_signing.jpg

Caption: Liansheng Miao, chairman and chief executive officer of Yingli (left) and David B. Miller, president of DuPont Electronics & Communications (right), today signed a $100 million strategic agreement for solar materials and technology collaboration.

Photo of DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallization paste: http://www2.dupont.com/Photovoltaics/en_US/assets/images/gallery/PouringPaste.jpg

Caption: Yingli and DuPont have signed a $100 million strategic agreement for advanced materials including DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes that boost the efficiency of solar cells.

Photo of DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film: http://www2.dupont.com/Photovoltaics/en_US/assets/images/gallery/Tedlar_01.jpg

Caption: As part of the $100 million strategic agreement between Yingli and DuPont, Yingli will purchase backsheet made with DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film, which enables superior, long-term energy output and has been adopted in Yingli's new Panda modules.

SOURCE DuPont