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German Companies Agree to Integrate Solar PV Façade System for Concrete Buildings

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

More items for Building Envelope

A new building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) product could transform concrete building facades into “highly-efficient solar energy harvesters,” without comprising aesthetics, two Germany-based companies announced.

The companies say the BIPV modules can be added to a building’s façade in non-intrusive ways and will be available in a variety of colors and dimensions.

The companies, Heliatek GmbH (Dresden, Germany), a high-end solar PV technology company, and RECKLI GmbH (Herne, Germany), a manufacturer of elastic molds for concrete building façades, recently signed a joint development agreement to use Heliatek’s organic solar panels on vertical concrete blocks.

Heliatek noted its organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology is well-suited for this application, because of its light weight, thin and powerful features. Additionally, the product’s efficiency remains constant up to 80 degrees C, therefore the panels can be integrated onto the concrete without need for ventilation, the companies said.

“We believe that the RECKLI/Heliatek solar façade solution will rapidly become the application of choice for many architects once these products come to market in two years,” said Thibaud Le Séguillon, CEO of Heliatek.

Dr. Bernd Trompeter, managing director of RECKLI, added, “By 2020, an EU directive will require new buildings to be nearly zero-energy as part of the drive to be green and so, having every wall being an active producer of solar electricity will be a major contributor to achieving truly green buildings.”

Aesthetically, the BIPV modules can be added to a building’s façade in non-intrusive ways and will be available in a variety of colors and dimensions to enable the architect to be creative with the external appearance of the building, the companies said.

“Until now, architects have only had a limited choice of expensive and complex ways of adding solar harvesting to their building. This new BIPV application will serve as a strong lever to start a new, truly green revolution in building design,” Trompeter said.
 
More information: www.heliatek.com; www.reckli.com.