Imagine if we could integrate a photovoltaic panel in any kind of building surface or in any kind of urban furniture without having any constraint regarding size, shape and weight.
This would open a new perspective for the distributed energy generation in urban areas, making “near-zero energy buildings and districts” a reality and improving citizen’s quality of life in a more sustainable environment.
However, mass adoption of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) and Product Integrated Photovoltaics (PIPV) solutions can only be achieved by developing cost-efficient and sustainable thin-film technologies with unbeatable aesthetic functionalities, mechanical flexibility and optical tunability.
The European-funded Custom-Art project aims to develop next generation Building Integrated Photovoltaics and Product Integrated Photovoltaics modules based on earth abundant thin-film materials such as kesterites:
- Custom-Art will bring flexible and semi-transparent kesterites solar modules to a higher level of maturity demonstrating very competitive conversion efficiencies and increased durability over 35 years at reduced production costs.
- By combining advanced strategies for materials properties management with customized modules design, two types of products will be developed and demonstrated at real life operational conditions, including flexible and semi-transparent modules that will be integrated in building and urban furniture elements.
Custom-Art involves 17 partners and 3 Third Parties, including the world leading actors involved in the development of kesterite technologies.
IREC will manage and coordinate all activities related to the management and coordination and will be in charge of taking the leadership of the dissemination, communication and exploitation tasks of the project. As kesterites expert, IREC will act as technical coordinator in the implementation. Prof. Alejandro Pérez-Rodriguez, from the Solar Energy Materials and Systems at IREC and Full Professor at the University of Barcelona, will be the Project Coordinator.
Check up the new video release from Custom-Art in this link.
CUSTOM-ART is a H2020 funded project that stands for “Disruptive kesterites-based thin film technologies customised for challenging architectural and active urban furniture applications”.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 952982.
