Agro Solar Europe unveils agrivoltaic mounting kit with organic materials

From pv magazine Germany

Germany-based Agro Solar Europe GmbH has developed a special mounting structure made of organic materials for applications in agrivoltaic facilities.

The company said it has tested its AgroSolar.FibR system together with technology partner FibR GmbH. It added that it will now begin deploying the structure in several pilot projects.

Instead of steel, Agro Solar Europe uses materials such as carbon, flax,  and wood fiber, as well as other unspecified renewable raw materials. The new structures are stable, resemble trees, and fit perfectly into the landscape, according to the manufacturer.

The wound lightweight construction of the organic material not only achieves a high load-bearing capacity, but also reduces the use of natural materials by 90%. In terms of weight, substructures can also be up to 90% lighter than structures made of steel.

Agro Solar Europe said that with better landscape integration, the acceptance of agricultural PV systems among the population can be increased even more.

“In the future, we will be able to manufacture our agrivoltaic systems from the same materials that are grown under the systems,” said Markus Haastert, managing director of Agro Solar Europe. “In this way, we are bringing added value back to Germany and defusing dependencies on other markets.”

Technology partner FibR said it is also satisfied with the results achieved thus far.

“With our resource-efficient lightweight construction, extremely long-span, highly load-bearing structures can be produced,” said the company's founder, Moritz Dörstelmannn, who is also a professor of digital design and fabrication at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). “In cooperation with AgroSolar Europe, we can optimally use this technology and thus create sustainable and efficient solutions for agriculture.”

Agro Solar Europe said it wants to start mass production of the system in 2026.