Transparent Solar Panel Technology for Energy Autonomous Greenhouses and Glass Buildings

Project Information

PanePowerSW

Grant agreement ID: 774717

DOI

10.3030/774717

Project closed

EC signature date 12 April 2017

Start date 1 May 2017

End date 31 August 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

BRITE HELLAS SA
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PanePowerSW (Transparent Solar Panel Technology for Energy Autonomous Greenhouses and Glass Buildings)

Reporting period: 2017-05-01 to 2017-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

According to United Nations, the world population will reach to 9.7 billion by 2050. Food, energy and water are three critical resources that must be managed if mankind is going to thrive. Considering this scenario, it will be required a 70-100% increase of food supply. Greenhouse farming is a solution to the food worldwide demands as it increases the food production per acre up to 100% compared to open field agriculture. However, Greenhouse farming also implies both strong energy cost and gas emission. Indeed, agriculture production accounts for 14% of global energy demand and, in 2004, for 13.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Our company has developed PanePower Solar Window (SW). PanePowerSW is a unique transparent (up to 70%) solar panel glass that generates clean energy through PV technology and more importantly allows the light to shine through greenhouses and commercial buildings windows. PanePowerSW contributes to the energy savings in buildings up to 30%, while in greenhouses, it enables the growing of the crop while reducing energy costs, quantified in 25% of the total operational costs. With Phase 1 project, we have assessed the technical and commercial feasibility of PanePowerSW to scale up the manufacturing and reach 500K m2 solar glass yearly production. Additionally, we have evaluated our commercial approach to reach the market in 2020.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

We have performed a detailed market analysis of the global Greenhouse crops and the Greenhouse manufactures, verifying the commercial potential for PanePowerSW; a global FTO analysis and set our IP strategy. On the technical side, we have established the parameters to scale-up our solar glass production and to validate a commercial Greenhouse pilot, following a complete execution plan for the Phase 2 project (planning, organization, risk analysis and budget). On the economic side, we have developed a detailed business plan including revenues analysis and a commercialization plan for 5-years after project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

At short term, our commercialized solar glass will reduce 25% energy costs and will improve the quality of crops. During Phase 2 we will optimize PanePowerSW manufacturing line to reach larger size glass for commercial Greenhouse and start its commercialization in 2020. Considering the total available market sized in 16.74 bn m2 for PV Glass, the average cost of PanePowerSW (~€50/m2) and expected cumulative sales of 1.45M m2, we estimate cumulative revenues of €70.97 M by 2024.

Unique Selling Point

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