TECH

Scientists create photovoltaic panels similar to tiles
Generally, "photovoltaic technologies are the main candidates for the production of energy near the places of consumption, in particular in cities," Lusa Luísa Andrade, a professor and researcher at FEUP, explained to the agency.the available solutions present constraints on building integration due to the aesthetic limitations in terms of transparency and color and to the limitation in the absorption of diffuse radiation, which restricts its application only to roofs.As a result, the façades remain unexcavated, that is, approximately 90% of the area available in today's urban buildings, he noted.The goal of the Portuguese Solar Tiles technology, he said, is "to help the sustainable construction market solve the problem of integrating photovoltaic panels in urban environments using thin film".According to the project's developer, thin-film photovoltaic panels are aesthetically more versatile and more efficient in capturing diffuse radiation (radiation reaching a surface with an angle of 90 degrees) than the silicon technology currently used.In addition, this technology, which has the durability of 20 years, offers several colors and different patterns, causing the panels to resemble tiles.The idea "is to combine tradition with technological innovation and bring to the urban environments the authenticity of being Portuguese, something that is increasingly sought after," said Luísa Andrade.The development of Portuguese Solar Tiles technology has been carried out in FEUP's Laboratory of Process, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy Engineering since 2007, under the leadership of Professor Adélio Mendes.
The team also includes researchers Ramon Mendes, from FEUP, and Andreia Passos, from the Institute of Systems Engineering and Computers, Technology and Science (INESC TEC).Portuguese Solar Tiles was honored with the first place in the edition in the second edition of 2017 of the Business Ignition Program (BIP), a program funded by North 2020, Portugal 2020 and European Union, and organized by U.Porto Inovação, by the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research at the University of Porto (CIIMAR) and INESC TEC."Participation in the BIP was very important because it made us look at the technological solution from the point of view of its economic value," said Luísa Andrade, adding that the victory motivates the team to continue the economic exploitation of the technology, demonstrating "that there is market for the Portuguese Solar Tiles ".According to the founder, the next steps involve the construction of a pilot factory to validate the increase in the scale of the technology, with the BPI enabled to find the people and institutions that will help us do so.

Lusa