The August 2024 commissioning of the Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia production facility in Cartersville, GA, completes another important step in the development of a clean energy supply chain in the USA. PENETRON ADMIX SB, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, was specified as the concrete waterproofing solution to protect the facility’s key below-grade structures from groundwater penetration.
Hanwha Qcells, known more commonly as Qcells, is a major manufacturer of photovoltaic cells and part of the Hanwha Group, a South Korean business conglomerate. Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia (HAGA) is a subsidiary of Qcells and specializes in the production of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets. EVA is an extremely elastic material and preferred for many manufacturing processes thanks to its low-temperature toughness, stress-crack and UV radiation resistance. It is widely used as a material for shoe soles, agricultural films, laminating films, medical supplies, and electrical applications such as the encapsulating sheets for photovoltaic cells.
HAGA’s new advanced materials manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia, now supplies EVA as an encapsulant film for the production of photovoltaic cells (Qcells). This encapsulant film is used to laminate solar panels to enhance their durability and performance. HAGA is one of only two manufacturers in the USA with the capability of making EVA sheets.
“The new $147 million HAGA encapsulant facility is adjacent to the Qcell 3.3-GW multi-step solar cell factory, which is set to go online by end of 2024,” notes Richard Farmer, Regional Sales Manager for Penetron USA. “Both facilities are a key part of the clean energy supply chain that is rapidly being developed here in the USA.”
Because the manufacturing pits at Cartersville are the deepest concrete structures of the plant, they are also exposed to the high groundwater levels found at the construction site. If untreated, these below-grade concrete structures can rapidly become vulnerable to moisture infiltration due to the hydrostatic pressure of the groundwater. This could lead to corrosion of the embedded reinforcement steel and serious deterioration of the whole structure.
As a result, finding a long-term concrete waterproofing solution was a priority for the project planners. Ready Mix USA, the ready-mix concrete supplier, recommended PENETRON ADMIX SB, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, over a competitive waterproofing product to INCO, the project’s general contractor, as the optimal concrete waterproofing solution.
PENETRON ADMIX SB was added to the concrete mix during the batching phase. Once exposed to moisture, the active ingredients present in the entire concrete matrix create a non-soluble crystalline network, which forms throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete structure. This network reduces permeability, regardless of hydrostatic pressure levels – effectively blocking any water from moving through the concrete and avoiding deterioration of a hard to reach below-grade structure.
“The self-healing capability of the PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated concrete mix used at the HAGA construction site thus ensures long-term durability for the concrete manufacturing pits – and virtually eliminates the need for any future concrete-related maintenance,” adds Richard Farmer.
