World’s Largest BiOPV Installation Completed in France Using Heliatek’s HeliaSol

ENGIE, Heliatek and the Department of Charentes Maritimes on Wednesday officially inaugurated the world’s largest BiOPV installation on a roof.

In the southwestern port of La Rochelle, France, 500 m² of Heliatek’s solar films were installed on the roof of the “Pierre Mendes France” middle school. With 3 different lengths of 2, 4 and 5.7 meters, nearly 400 films were applied in record time. They were installed on two different roof surfaces. The result is the largest BiOPV – Building integrated Organic PhotoVoltaic – roof installation, worldwide to date, and the living proof of the ease and speed at which these solar films can be installed on a building.

First time use of HeliaSol – installation in record time
The HeliaSol “ready-to-use” film solution was used on a roof installation for the first time. With self-adhesive backside, as well as preconfigured wiring, HeliaSol is mounted directly onto existing roof surfaces and only needs to be electrically connected. This 500 m² installation took very little time. Taking into account the preparation time, a team of 6 people needed only 8 hours to install 500 m² of HeliaSol as deployment took just over 2 minutes per film. With an installed power of 22.5 kWp, about 23.8 MWh of electricity will be generated annually, which is equivalent of the annually consumption of 5 households. It represents approximately 15% of the school’s electricity demand.

HeliaSol
With HeliaSol, Heliatek is expanding its product portfolio. BiOPV has been the focus of Heliatek for several years. HeliaSol serves as an individualized “ready-to-use” solar product solution for the retrofitting market of roof surfaces and facades on existing industrial and commercial buildings. HeliaSol is suitable for all energy-saving renovation projects where restrictions on weight, statics, access, insulation, guarantee or penetration of the roof play a role in product selection. This installation in France is the first step in preparing for a general market entry.

Heliatek is anticipating market developments and increased requirements to integrate existing surfaces into the energy system of a building.

“Light roofs, which usually do not allow for standard PV technology, can now produce green electricity with our HeliaSol,” said Thibaud Le Séguillon, CEO of Heliatek GmbH. “This school reduces its carbon footprint and contributes to a more sustainable energy production.” 

ENGIE is assuming a leading role in the transformation of the energy sector.

“Renewable energy is an essential part of our strategy of decarbonization, decentralization as well as digitalization of energy,” said Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE. “Almost half of the energy consumption comes from the buildings sector. New, and above all existing buildings, will have to reduce energy consumption and make energy use far more efficient. Buildings that couldn’t previously be used for energy production will be able to cover their own electricity requirements in the future.”