BIPVBOOST H2020 Aims to Lower Cost of Architectural Solar Materials by up to 75%

The recent BIPVBOOST announcement represents one of the architectural solar industry’s most significant developments of 2018.

We’re also thrilled to announce that Anoop Babu, ASA’s Middle East Regional Manager, is serving on the advisory board of this important campaign. Congrats Anoop!

BIPVBOOST is funded by the Horizon 2020 initiative and is a consortium effort that includes 19 partners across seven European countries. The goal is to drastically lower the cost of BIPV materials.

Spanish-based Technalia is leading the consortium. Their objective is tremendously ambitious, as they aim to achieve a 50% reduction in the cost of additional BIPV (building-integrated photovalics) modules by 2020 and a 75% reduction in additional costs by 2030.

Why is BIPVBOOST necessary?

As ASA co-founder Chris Klinga recently explained, the major hurdle for BIPV is the lack of cooperation between the building and solar industries. Simply put, it’s difficult for the building industry to see value in BIPV adoption due to its impact to the traditional building supply chain.

There is also a general consensus that the BIPV industry is quite fragmented and lacks universally applicable standardized materials.

There are several ways that the BIPVBOOST consortium plans to overcome these obstacles and lower costs across the entire value chain.

Through better automation of BIPV manufacturing processes and increasing standardization of BIPV building materials (allowing for more widespread applications in building skins), it is anticipated that there will be increased adoption of BIPV materials among nZEBs (nearly zero energy buildings).

As the prevalence of nZEBs increases across Europe thanks in part to the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, BIPVBOOST comes at a critical time, enabling BIPV materials to be incorporated into these new structures.

Who are the main players?

BIPVBOOST is a collaborative effort among many companies and organizations across Europe, including:

• Tecnalia, based out of Biscay, Spain, is heading up the project.

• Italian-based PIZ, Spanish-based Mondragón Assembly and ISFOC, and Belgian-based Optimal Computing are the four building owners whose locations and structures make them ideal as demonstration sites.

• Swiss-based Viriden will manufacture BIPV equipment and Mondragón Assembly will produce BIPV modules.

• Onyx Solar, based out of Spain, and Swiss-based Flisom are the roof and facade manufacturers.

• Netherlands-based TULiPPS Solar, PIZ and German-based Ernst Schweizer are the general contractors.

• Spanish-based COMSA Computer and Software are the software specialists.

• French-based EnerBIM, OPTIMAL Computing, and Belgian-based 3E will develop and maintain energy management systems.

• ICARES Consulting, a Chinese-European company, will design the necessary business models and policies.

• WIP Renewable Energies from Germany will handle dissemination and communication.

• Cycleco from France will contribute their expertise toward life cycle management and analysis.

• The research organizations that will serve as the backbone of the technical aspects of the consortium include Swiss-based SUPSI and Eurac, French-based CSTB, and Tecnalia.

How much will it cost?

The estimated cost of the BIPVBOOST project is around €11.5M. The consortium is requesting €8.8M in funding from the EU.

Here at ASA, we are encouraged by this announcement because it aligns so closely with our main objective: fostering and promoting the adoption of architectural solar materials across the globe.

Furthermore, BIPVBOOST proves that we’re all moving in the right direction—toward a more energy-efficient, sustainable construction process that will benefit future generations.

To learn more about joining the ASA movement, or if your business is aligned with our mission, check this out.