German organic PV company Heliatek will provide solar films for a pilot project in Singapore focusing on the future of sustainable urban development.
Heliateks Singapore-based partner, vTrium Energy, is implementing what the company describes as Asia's largest building-integrated organic photovoltaic (BIOPV) project. Heliatek's HeliaFilm organic solar film will be the core part of the installations, which will provide a test-bed platform for new sustainable technologies.
This project is funded and supported by Singapores Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) as well as the countrys Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore). Findings from the project will contribute to the creation of a base for Singapores future energy mix.
The project will install HeliaFilm on 226 square meters with a peak power of more than 12 kWp. Three different parts of JTCs buildings located in the countrys Cleantech Park 1 and 2 and at the Seletar Aerospace complex will be covered with solar films. The state-owned JTC built the CleanTech Park and is also overseeing development of the Seletar site.
HeliaFilm will be implemented with various building materials, within and on glass, on steel and on curved polycarbonate. Various versions of HeliaFilm will be used, including full power opaque, transparent with two different transparency levels (15% and 30 %), and different colors.
"The combination of several HeliaFilm versions and the application in different orientations on various materials makes this project very exciting for us," said 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."
Conventional silicon becomes less efficient as the temperature rises but HeliaFilm is not affected by increased temperatures, the company points out. "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 added.
vTrium Energy CEO Vijay Sirse said, "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.
Sirse added that BIOPV could provide a significant contribution to the future urban development of Singapore.
The implementation will start in May and the project will run for at least 18 months. Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) will perform the independent monitoring of the pilot.
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