In the broader context of the European Union, the development of photovoltaic integration solutions is of paramount importance to meet the ambitious climate and energy goals set by the EU. The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, necessitating a significant increase in renewable energy sources. Photovoltaic (PV) technology, with its versatility and potential for integration into various sectors such as buildings, infrastructure, transportation, and agriculture, plays a crucial role in this transition. The integration of PV systems into everyday environments not only helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also enhances energy security and creates new economic opportunities. By fostering innovation in PV integration, the EU can lead the way in sustainable energy solutions, ensuring a cleaner, more resilient, and economically vibrant future for its citizens. This strategic focus on PV integration aligns with the EU’s broader objectives of promoting green technologies, boosting the economy through green jobs, and ensuring a sustainable energy transition that benefits all member states.
However, this ideal approach presents significant challenges in the manufacturing, product development, and effective integration of these multifunctional PV devices into final applications due to the fundamentally different specifications required by each sector, which hinders the possibility of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ technological approach. Additionally, customization and design flexibility are still limited by the existing manufacturing capacity and sophistication, which is currently very much oriented towards more standardized manufacturing processes based on traditional PV equipment and methods.
In this context, SEAMLESS-PV is designed to address this challenge by focusing on (1) the development of advanced flexible automated PV manufacturing equipment based on high-efficiency c-Si technologies, (2) the scaling up of new manufacturing processes that offer key features (e.g. lightness, enhanced integrability) and cost reductions that enable the seamless integration of PV into final applications, and (3) the development of a set of IPV products that demonstrate cost-competitiveness and compliance with market requirements and expectations. The project will demonstrate this new manufacturing capacity at the pilot level and showcase the opportunity for European IPV manufacturers and end-users to unlock the potential of this sector.
