06 | 2008

News
BioSolar to Begin Pre-
Production Runs of Its
Solar Module
Component
BioSolar, Inc., from Santa Clarita, California, USA is the
developer of a technology to produce bio-based materials from
renewable plant sources that reduce the cost of photovoltaic
solar cells. The company recently announced that they expect
to begin commercial production of its BioBacksheet over the
next few months, and is gearing up for pre-production runs.
The announcement follows recent news reports that
BioSolar has filed a comprehensive patent application ensuring
BioSolar full protection on its BioBacksheet technology.
“The ability to evaluate and remedy real-time issues
encountered during multiple pre-production manufacturing
runs will prove invaluable as we gear up for full-scale
production,” said Dr. David Lee, BioSolar’s CEO.
Lee explained, “Pre-production pilot runs of BioBacksheets
are very narrow, approximately one foot wide, while normal
manufacturing runs will be five or six feet wide. Once pilot runs
are successful, the next step is to transition to commercial
production manufacturing runs. Physical properties of the
backsheet from each pre-production run are measured,
sample PV modules are produced, and tested before repeating
the preproduction run.”
“These tests will provide the feedback necessary to move
forward into full production of the BioBacksheet,” said Dr.
Stanley Levy, BioSolar’s CTO,”We are extremely pleased with
the progress so far, and we look forward to the successful
transition into full scale production in the near future.”
In a September report, and the October 10 edition of California
Energy Circuit, Beacon Equity Research analyst Victor Sula
noted that previous attempts to make solar backsheet
with bioplastics failed due to the material’s “low melting
temperature and fragile molecular structure.” He noted that
BioSolar’s material has “overcome these constraints” with
“durability characteristics similar to conventional petroleumbased
plastics.”
The recent activity reinforces BioSolar’s position at the
forefront of providing advanced bio-based alternatives to
the expensive petroleum-based backsheets currently in
use, which have been actively sought by manufacturers as a
component of solar panels.
www.biosolar.com.
PLA Bottles in US
Capitol Hill Cafeteria
Last year bioplastics MAGAZINE reported about Naturally
Iowa from Clarinda, Iowa, USA to be the first dairy company
that introduced PLA as a milk bottle material.
Now, just recently a press conference on Capitol Hill
(Washington DC, USA) heralded the arrival of Naturally
Iowa’s newest product, ‘Green Bottle Spring Water.’ This
new product will be the only bottled water available in the
House Cafeteria, the Longworth Café.
The Cafeteria has access to a well-developed industrial
compost system developed by the United States
Department of Agriculture. The composting material is
sent daily to the facility in nearby Maryland to go from
trash to topsoil in less than ninety days. This fits perfectly
with Naturally Iowa’s criteria for placing their bottled
water in ‘Closed Loop’ environments, where there is a plan
to collect all empty bottles and return them to nature. In
addition to composting, the bottles can be incinerated, or
ground up and used again.
The water for the Green Bottles is an underground source
of natural spring water near Alton, Virginia, six hundred
feet below a certified organic farm. After a nation-wide
search, Naturally Iowa selected Grand Springs, and Mr.
Robert Smith to be the strategic partner in this exciting
project.
While the House of Representatives is the first location
for ‘Green Bottle Spring Water’, a large number of
other government and non-government locations in
the Washington DC area are working on their ‘closedloop’
strategies so that they can be added to the list of
customers. Naturally Iowa’s recently announced ‘Yogurt in
a Bottle 7.0’ is also packaged in NatureWorks, LLC’s Ingeo
bottle, and will be available as an added beverage in the
Green Bottle Spring Water locations.
www.naturallyiowa.com
Mark your calendar
bioplastics MAGAZINE is planning the
2nd PLA Bottle Conference to be held during
drinktec 2009 (mid September 2009) in Munich,
Germany. A ‘Call for Papers’ is now open. Send
your proposals to the editorial office.
mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com
www.pla-bottle-conference.com
www.drinktec.com
bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/08] Vol. 3