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It is possible to innovate with solar energy in a conservative sector such as construction. What’s more: it has to be from Europe. The expertise and knowledge are available in Belgium. Now we have to wait for the construction sector to make a turnaround.
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‘These are like mini solar panels. We connect them manually. They come on a pool shutter.’ In the workshop of the solar energy company Soltech in Tienen, Stefan Dewallef, responsible for product development, shows a pendulum of slats. He has been working for Soltech for almost thirty years, which specializes in building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), the technical term for building materials with integrated solar cells.
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Bipv is an important application that can help the construction industry to become more climate-friendly and ultimately CO₂ neutral. Europe aims to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. A first deadline is not so far away: by 2030, CO₂ emissions must be reduced by 55 percent compared to 1990.
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Now 36 percent of CO₂ emissions and 40 percent of energy consumption come from homes and buildings. The European Commission will impose its own trajectory on each country to reduce emissions from the construction sector, just like the transport sector is a major polluter. The EU wants to see the energy consumption of buildings reduced by 1.5 percent annually between 2024 and 2030. 3 percent of government buildings must become almost climate neutral.
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‘You need solar energy to meet those guidelines,’ says Bart Vermang, who conducts research into new materials for solar energy for the Leuven research institute imec and Hasselt University. ‘Solar panels on roofs will not suffice. So innovation with materials is becoming essential.’
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That means that the construction industry has to experience that change. That’s no mean feat: the sector is known for being rather conservative. ‘The b in BIPV is important. But if I look at the sector, in recent years it has been too little b and too much pv’, says contractor Bas van de Kreeke, who joined Soltech’s recent relaunch. ‘The construction industry’s point of view has been completely absent in recent years: how does a contractor think, what does he need, how does an architect think? That has to be included in the production process right from the start.’
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The generation of green energy already starts on the drawing board.