World’s Largest Façade Installed with Organic Photovoltaics in Port of Duisburg

Approximately 185 m² of Heliatek’s organic photovoltaic films were installed on the façade of a warehouse of the Duisburger Hafen AG in August.
 
It is a sub-project within the cooperation agreement “Drehkreuz Energiewende,” which was established between the Duisburger Hafen AG and the energy company innogy in 2016.
 
The trial installation has 192 three-meter-long HeliaSol film panels, making it the largest facade installation to date with organic photovoltaics.


 
HeliaSol is an extremely lightweight, very thin and flexible solar film that is produced in an energy-efficient roll-to-roll process in Germany. Equipped with a self-adhesive backing, the film can be applied directly to a variety of surfaces without further assembly efforts, and without affecting the structure underneath. With the project in Duisburg, the solar films were glued directly onto the metal facade of the warehouse. Ventilation or cooling is not necessary as the films do not lose power or efficiency at high temperatures, unlike crystalline solar technology.
 
The solar films cover an area of approximately 185m² and generate about as much energy as a 5-person household would consume annually. Due to the efficient use of materials and manufacturing process, the solar films produce 80 times more energy over their lifecycle than is needed to produce them. When compared to the CO₂ emissions of various other types of energy production, Heliatek’s solar films clearly provide the lowest CO₂ footprint, with 20g CO₂ per kWh.
 
The construction of the solar facade is one of four areas of cooperation and a large number of measures implemented between innogy and duisport for a successful sustainability strategy. Duisburger Hafen AG is the operator of the world’s largest inland port and intends to position itself as a major hub for the energy transition. That’s why a strategic partnership with innogy was established in 2016, with the goal to jointly test new methods of energy conservation, and using renewable energy for major industries and in logistics.
 
After the biogas plant in Bergheim-Paffendorf, and the façade installation at the Lechwerke in Augsburg, a third mutual project between Heliatek and investor innogy has commenced. With the inauguration of a new production facility in 2020, Heliatek is committed to actively shaping the future of a decentralized and decarbonized future. Following a successful test run on the Duisburg port site alone offers potential to use up to 10 million m² of façade and roof space for the production of solar energy. Since 2016, innogy SE has worked in cooperation with Heliatek GmbH and has actively supported the preparation of Heliatek’s market entry since then.
 
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“The building exterior of duisport received a second skin, one that generates energy,” said Martin Neweling, project manager, group strategy, innogy SE. “With each new project, we gain experience in installation, and also in terms of handling. The current short installation time of just a few minutes per film is impressive.”
 
With the Federal Government’s goals of achieving a virtually climate-neutral standard of buildings by 2050, the premises for this industry are set in Germany. Buildings cause about one-third of all CO₂ emissions and total energy consumption in Germany. One method of energy reduction for buildings, for example, lies in energy-oriented building renovations. This allows for a significant impact on the reduction of CO₂ emissions.