Heliatek supplies films for Asia

The Germany-based organic solar PV company Heliatek will be providing solar films to be used in what will be, once completed, the largest building-integrated organic photovoltaic (BIOPV) project in Asia to date, according to recent reports.

The pilot project/program — to bebuilt in Singapore, in partnership withvTrium Energy — will utilize theHeliaFilm organic solar films produced by the Dresden-based solar company to cover 226 square meters of building surface, for a peak power output of more than 12kWp. Jurong Town Corporation is providing most of the funding for the project.

Three different parts of the Jurong Town Corporation’s buildings will be outfitted with the Heliafilm organic solar films — giving Heliatek the opportunity to collect comprehensive real-world data on the performance of its solar films in hot, humid environments.

Other funding is coming via the country’s Standards, Productivity, and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore).

Various approaches to the introduction of the solar films will be undertaken — including on and within glass, on curved polycarbonate, and on steel. In addition to the various implementations, different forms of solar films will be used as well, including: a high-power opaque form, two different transparent forms (15% + 30%), and various different colors.

“The combination of several HeliaFilm versions and the application in different orientations on various materials makes this project very exciting for us,” noted Heliatek CEO Thibaud Le Séguillon. “In a relatively short period of time, we are going to get a comprehensive dataset about our solar films’ performances in tropical climates.”

Whereas conventional silicon loses some efficiency as temperatures rise, HeliaFilm is apparently notably less affected by high temperatures, according to Le Séguillon.

“This real-world test in a hot sunny climate, where solar is an obvious choice, will demonstrate the clear advantage of our technology,” Le Séguillon stated.

The CEO of vTrium Energy, Vijay Sirse, commented: “For Singapore, this project is an important milestone on its path towards a sustainable city development. As one of the most advanced countries in the Asian region, Singapore is again demonstrating its leading role in green urban development.”

The installation of the organic solar films is expected to begin in May. These will remain up for, at the least, 18 months. Independent monitoring of the project will reportedly be done by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore.