Brabant at the forefront of new solar energy developments with strategic investment

This involves being able to incorporate flexible solar laminates into components for buildings, infrastructure, and vehicles. The Netherlands is leading the way worldwide with this ‘mass customization’ production concept. The research line was conceived by TNO, and built by industry partners such as MAAN and Duflex, with financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

Running in parallel is the research programme on industrialised manufacturing of perovskites, a promising thin-film material for solar energy applications. The aim is for both studies to also converge on mass customization based on perovskite. Perovskite is a relatively new material for use in solar cells and has potential advantages over conventional silicon. The raw material for perovskite is abundantly available, the material and production costs are lower and the efficiency potentially higher. In addition, perovskite can be combined with silicon cells, for instance, to form a so-called tandem application. This creates a solar cell with a very high efficiency.

Practical steps

The collaboration with the Province of North Brabant will enable practical steps to be taken in developing integrated photovoltaic (PV) components in the coming years. The agreement with the province and the Brabant Development Company marks the start of an innovation coalition in the field of solar energy and offers many opportunities for the business community in Brainport and Brabant to help shape this innovative development. The strategic investment by the province in making mass customization and perovskite ready for the market can reach up to € 4.3 million.

Tailor-made

The aim is to make mass customization – the large-scale manufacture of custom-made PV laminates – market-ready. In the research line, which is basically a programmable collection of robots, processes are developed for the manufacturing of flexible semi-finished products with PV functionality in every conceivable size, shape, and electrical power. Component manufacturers can then incorporate such semi-finished products into their own products without significantly changing their production process.

Semi-finished products can be made on the same production line for all possible integrated PV products. This allows existing companies to break new ground and provides opportunities for new market entrants. The research line will also play a major role in the European MC2.0 project led by TNO, which will start in January 2023, with 20 partners from various countries providing input.

Possible to make integrated PV cost-effective

Harm Jeeninga, Market Director for Energy & Materials Transition at TNO: ‘We’ll work with our partners from across the supply chain to demonstrate that automated manufacturing of integrated PV elements is cost-effective in existing and new markets. This will initially involve construction elements in façades and roofing, but we’ve also shown that you can aesthetically and effectively incorporate PV components into the roofs and bonnets of cars or into noise barriers.

The Province of North Brabant wants to work with research institutions and the business community to establish several innovation coalitions. Joining forces in these coalitions will make it possible to accelerate innovations, and so provide solutions to societal challenges. A big step towards using any suitable surface to generate sustainable electricity within 10 years.