The accumulation of dirt on solar panels impacts the conversion efficiency of solar modules and drives operational costs for park owners. DSM’s Anti-Soiling coating tackles these common issues, delivering both direct performance improvements and indirect maintenance savings, boosting the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of solar projects in dry environments. The new Anti-Soiling coating is an offspring of our industry-leading and patented Anti-Reflective coating, which has been supplied in the industry for eight years and is currently used at more than 70 GW of installations globally.

DSM Anti-Soiling coatingfor solar glass: a field test in India. Test results and potential EBITDAbenefits for PV park projects.

KEY BENEFITS OF DSM ANTI-SOILING COATING: • Significantly better dust and soil repellant properties

compared to AR-coated or uncoated glass • Excellent anti-reflective properties: Average

transmission gain is ~3%, which is competitive with other commercial anti-reflective coatings on the market

• Strong performance in various durability tests (acc. to IEC 61215), comparable to DSM Anti-Reflective coating

• Fewer cleaning cycles needed, so saving O&M costs • Easier and faster cleaning, and reduced use of

consumables • Lower residual soiling level after cleaning• Robot-cleaning capabilities were tested and approved

by two equipment producers• Excellent UV resistance, essential in areas with high

sun loads• It is applied at the glass producer prior to module

manufacturing, as with DSM Anti-Reflective coating

DSM ANTI-SOILING COATING PUT TO THE TEST After a multidisciplinary team of scientists and application technologists from DSM had spent three years developing this coating, undertaking both indoor and outdoor validation tests, a controlled, climate-representative test was undertaken at a solar park owned by an Indian Power Developer in a Semi-Arid climate region in southern part of India.

Modules coated with DSM’s Anti-Soiling coating were benchmarked against AR-coated modules for 7 months actively measuring the power output. In this period, the panels were manually cleaned 18 times, each in the same way and at the same time. The module performance was assessed with highly accurate monitoring equipment at inverter level. Under these controlled and representative test conditions, the panels coated with DSM’s Anti-Soiling coating delivered on average approximately 2.56% more power compared to panels that integrated DSM’s Anti-Reflective coating, which is more than 23 kWh/kWp energy gained over AR-coated panels over 7 months period, underlining both the reliability and added value of the Anti-Soiling coating. Extrapolated to the full size of the 150 MW plant this could result in an EBITDA of 266k$ per year.

So, in short, thanks to the efficacy of the coating, modules in semi-arid -like environments can maintain their optimal performance for longer because of the excellent anti-soiling properties of the coating.

NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR PARK OWNERSIn addition to the efficiency gain, park managers can further increase their profit by reducing their cost of operation. When installing modules with DSM Anti-Soiling coating, the number of cleaning cycles and reducing the amount of cleaning consumables can be limited, including water and manpower. As in this example, for the site in India, if the potential exhibited in the test is extrapolated to the full 150 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh, India , its owner could benefit from an EBITDA increase of 1.8%. This is achieved by a combination of higher electricity output (+2.56%) and lowering the number of cleaning cycles that are required to run and maintain the installation in an efficient manner (-10 cycles).

While the exact performance of the Anti-Soiling coating can differ according to the circumstances and location of its use, it is clear this technology can offer some very real advantages to solar-park owners. We invite our customers to model their projects and assess the potential benefits of the DSM Anti-Soiling coating together with our team.

A SUPERIOR CHOICE FOR MODULE MAKERSWith its Anti-Soiling coating, DSM enables PV module manufacturers to create specialized, high- value-added solar modules for intense soiling environments and to differentiate from a standard module. Furthermore, the coating passes all relevant IEC durability tests, and the anti-reflective properties of the coating are not affected, enabling consistent average flash-test gains of up to 3% over uncoated glass, which is competitive with other commercial anti-reflective coatings offered on the market. This means that module manufacturers do not lose power output in production. Finally, with the coating already applied at the glass manufacturer, sourcing and processing of Anti-Soiling coated glass is undertaken as usual, without any further steps or uncertainties.

INNOVATION ACROSS THE VALUE CHAINIn order to drive the solar industry forward and deliver meaningful innovation, DSM collaborates closely with partners throughout the value chain. From project developers and investors, to module makers and solar-park owners, DSM helps a wide range of stakeholders implement our solutions and understand how our innovations can help improve their bottom lines and reduce their carbon footprints. As part of this approach, we offer technical advice wherever you are and whenever you need us; the more we understand your needs, the better we can serve your business in our next cycle of innovation.

DSM AS DSM AR Uncoated

AssumptionsLocation: Site in IndiaSize: 150 MWpSoiling rate: 0.5% per daySoiling- rate reduction via AS: 50%Cleaning cost: 95 $/MW/cycleElectricity price: 0.0571 $/kWh Benefits of AS-coating vs. AR-coating:Reduction of cleaning cycles -10 per yearEBITDA gain $ 266,000 per yearEBITDA gain 1.8% per year

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“Our use of DSM’s innovative Anti-Soiling coating reflects our commitment to building durable and high-quality modules. This coating has anti-reflective and anti-soiling characteristics that both enhance module power output and maintain it for longer. For our customers, having DSM’s Anti-Soiling coating means increased power output and lowered cleaning costs, leading to lower LCOE and higher IRR. We’re proud to integrate DSM materials into our modules.” Dr Jin Hao, Vice President, JinkoSolar

Performance at the Indian solar park. Example of soil-adhesion difference between AR, AS and uncoated glass.

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DSM Advanced SolarFor further information, send an email to info.samesunmorepower@dsm.com or visit us at www.dsm.com/solar, or contact: Europe DSM Advanced Solar B.V.Brightlands Campus – building 200Urmonderbaan 22Gate 26167 RD Geleen The Netherlands

AmericasDSM Advanced Solar655 Montgomery st – 7th FloorSan Francisco CA 94111USA Tel: +1 973 906 6295

India, Middle East & AfricaDSM India Private Limited2109 WeWork ForumDLF Cybercity, Phase IIIGurugram 122002IndiaTel: +91 124 5026061

JapanDSM Japan11F, 2-6-3 Shiba Koen, Minato-kuTokyo 105-0011JapanTel: +81 3 5472 1811

China & SE AsiaDSM China Ltd.Advanced Solar476 Li Bing RoadZhangjiang High-Tech ParkPudong New District, Shanghai 201203ChinaTel: +86 2161718242

DISCLAIMER Although DSM has used diligent care to ensure that the information provided in this document is accurate and up to date, DSM makes no representation or warranty of the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information. This publication is distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressly or implied. In no event shall DSM be liable for any damages arising from the reader’s reliance upon, or use of, these materials. The reader shall be solely responsible for any interpretation or use of the material contained in this brochure. The content of this document is subject to change without further notice. Please contact your local DSM representative for more details. All trademarks listed in this brochure are trademarks of DSM in the Netherlands and/or other countries. 19.002 © DSM Advanced Solar 2019

BENEFITS FOR YOUR BUSINESSTo help you quantify your particular financial benefit by adopting the Anti-Soiling coating, and how it improves the efficiency of solar modules, we have developed a special online calculation tool. Give it a try or contact us by emailing info.samesunmorepower@dsm.com or visit www.dsm.com/solar.