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SolarGaps - Energy generating solar smart window blinds

Project description

Produce green energy with smart solar blinds

Buildings are responsible for more than a third of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy by the end of 2020. To meet this requirement and address the increasing cost of electricity, many households and businesses are looking to invest in private solar photovoltaic electricity and shadowing systems. However, this is not an option without sufficient roof or land area. The EU-funded SolarGaps project has developed the first window blinds that automatically track the sun and generate electricity from its energy. Its priority now is to complete the technological and commercial development of the B2B smart solar blinds system and bring the product to market.

Objective

With the constant growth of population in the world, the demand for electricity is rising. The biggest electricity consumers are buildings. In EU heating and cooling in the buildings and industry accounts for 50% of the EU’s total energy consumption. However, generating electricity from conventional sources of energy increases the greenhouse effect and escalate the environmental problems on Earth. One of the existing solutions to these problems are alternative sources of energy, in particular, solar. However, the existing solar solutions have several problems: solar panels are too expensive and can be mounted only on the roof or flat surfaces, and billions of city residents don't have access to roofs, or private land. Energy generation from vertical surfaces (such as solar window technology) is still on prototyping stage and has low efficiency. SolarGaps came up with the innovative solution – the company developed first in the world solar smart window blinds – a device that combines a shading appliance (venetian blinds) with solar panels, which allows generating electricity for further storage or use, as well as protecting the room from overheating, and the windows from poor weather conditions. The electricity, generated with SolarGaps, will allow to reduce external electricity consumption by up to 70% To ensure successful commercialization, in Phase 1 of SME Instrument, SolarGaps intends to develop an elaborate feasibility study for SolarGaps blinds commercialization that would include a thorough market research, dealership network development, a business plan with an extensive financial, pricing, and IPR strategy. This will help the company to have a more detailed vision of the target markets, improve the design and features of the product to meet the users’ needs, build quality business partnerships, and tailor pricing & sales strategies to capture the biggest market share possible.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017

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Coordinator

SOLARGAPS LLC
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
1A/2 MAHNITOHORSKA STREET
02606 KYIV
Ukraine

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
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