3M offers adhesive, laminate expertise to Desertec initiative
3Mon Wednesday joined the Desertec Industrial Initiative, donating its film, adhesive and coating component technology expertise to help integrate North Africa and the Middle East with Europe's power network.
The Minnesota-based company said it would become an associate partner in the project, which aims to "create the framework generating a sustainable supply of renewable energy climate protective in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East and to prepare integration with the European power network."
3M also said it would contribute its high-voltage overhead conductor expertise, with which it has developed a ceramic-fiber reinforced aluminum conductor that can carry twice as much electricity as conventional steel cables.
The goal of the project is twofold: satisfy a substantial part of the energy needs of the region's nations and meet up to 15 percent of Europe's electricity demand.
3M joins 17 founding corporations in the venture, including Deutsche Bank and Siemens.
The company offers several products for the solar industry, including:
- Mirror films and lenses for the concentration of solar light,
- Encapsulating films designed to protect solar cells,
- Charge collection tapes for photovoltaic modules,
- Coating technology that makes surfaces more abrasion resistant and easier to clean.
The company is also involved in the wind power industry, for which it offers special adhesive tapes that protect the edges of rotor blades.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com