building integrated photovoltaics

German manufacturer Ehret has launched SolarSlide, a sliding shutter with integrated PV modules developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). It provides solar shading while generating electricity for residential and commercial facades.

Germany’s SolarEnvelopeCenter project has launched a web-based planning guide for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), offering standardized design solutions for roofs and facades that comply with building codes and industry standards.

IEA-PVPS Task 15 has launched its first modeling intercomparison exercise on coloured building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and is inviting PV modelers and researchers to evaluate their methods using real-world performance data.

Spain-based Izpitek has developed an 86 kW building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) installation for tunnel entrances and exits that supplies power for lighting, demonstrating how solar energy can be adapted to complex architectural environments.

Heritage buildings face mounting pressure to cut carbon emissions, but traditional solar panels often clash with their historic appearance and face public resistance. Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) offer a discreet alternative, blending solar technology into roofing materials and enabling wider adoption across protected sites. As UK policy increasingly supports solar on historic buildings, BIPV presents a scalable solution that reconciles climate action with architectural preservation.

ArcelorMittal has started producing its Helioroof building-integrated PV modules in France. The steelmaker says the system aims to simplify energy retrofits for commercial and industrial roofs.

Researchers in Germany have examined how battery storage could help façade PV systems move beyond their niche market by 2030. Their findings show that a large majority of south-oriented façades in Europe could be equipped with vertical solar arrays combined with batteries.

An Indian-British research team has developed a building-integrated linear concentrating PV facade by sandwiching an asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator, PERC cells, and encapsulation layers between two sheets of glass. The system was tested under both indoor and outdoor conditions and its payback period was found to be of up to 11 years.

Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) researchers are using roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography to produce visually seamless building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) modules.

ClearVue Technologies says its solar facade solutions, that combine the company’s solar glazing units into a fully integrated energy generating building envelope, have achieved a payback period of less than three years in a Hong Kong government trial.