From pv magazine Germany.
The first heterojunction Smartwire solar modules have just come off Meyer Burger’s production line in Germany’s Saxony, and the Swiss company is already planning its next step.
It announced Thursday that it plans to add innovative solar PV roof tiles to its portfolio. The product will be a roof-integrated, high-performance PV system that can be installed like traditional roof tiles.
To accelerate the market launch, Meyer Burger has acquired a highly developed solution from an unnamed German engineering service provider that has already been certified and approved by the German building authorities, in accordance with IEC 61215 and IEC 61730.
The package
The purchase agreement includes all intellectual property rights to the PV roof tile solution, including all associated patents, certifications, and building authority approval, as well as technical knowhow, said Meyer Burger. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The roof-integrated solar PV system will expand Meyer Burger's portfolio in the premium rooftop segment. The manufacturer plans to present its solar roof at Intersolar Europe in Munich at the beginning of October.
Meanwhile, first deliveries of the PV tiles to customers are scheduled for the second half of 2022, according to the company. They will be designed in such a way that they can be easily installed and maintained by a roofer, it added.
“Integrated solar roof systems still represent a market niche today,” said Gunter Erfurt, CEO of Meyer Burger. “With our novel solar tile solution, we plan to take roof-integrated solutions out of the niche and into a larger market.”
Moreover, expanding the portfolio in this direction is a “consistent step within our growth strategy,” Erfurt added. With the integrated roof system, it will also be possible, in the future, to develop roof areas that are not suitable for the installation of standard PV modules.
The company added that it also intends to rely on its heterojunction smartwire technology for the tiles.
Tesla
To date, Meyer Burger's most prominent competitor in the PV tile market is probably Tesla. The CEO of the Californian electric car manufacturer, Elon Musk, presented his vision of a solar tile for the “solar roof” back in the autumn of 2016.
Since then, he has remained rather quiet again about the solution and it is relatively unclear how many roofs are equipped with Tesla’s PV tiles. There are also several other suppliers on the market, such as Autarq, Sunroof, and Midsummer.
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The current solar roof tiles on the market are too expensive. If the price can come down to nromal PV levels, then this could be a great product.
Excellent work keep it coming for 2022
Good innovation and excellent
How many Rooftops are there in the world…. what is the total area of these roofs for potential solar tiles … by 2050 … let us see….
• 10 Billion people with 3 Billion houses/rooftops….
• If 50% are suitable (South Exposure, Multi-Story etc..) … you get 1.5 Billion Roofs @ 100m2 (1000sft) …150Billion m2… of Roof Area.
• Typical Solar Installations produce 150W/m2… (Tiles would be less)…
• Total (Potential) Installed Capacity 150Billion m2 X 150W/m2 = 22.5TW
• Say 30TW… Including Commercial/Industrial Roofs…
• With each 1m2 of PV Panels annually generating… typically … 1,200Whr/W… we get 36,000 TWhrs/yr….
• Global Energy needs in 2050 is 180,000TWhrs needing a 150TW Solar System…
As you can see….Solar Tiles will NEVER PROVIDE THE SOLUTION.
AgriVoltaics(AV) on the other hand need to use ONLY 7.5% of its 15Million km2 of Agricultural Land to ALONE provide ALL THE ENERGY THE WORLD NEEDS…. WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF MARGIN TOO…
Rooftop Tiles will always remain ONLY a “niche market” player… but NOT THE SOLUTION … LIKE AGRIVOLTAICS…