Brightlands Materials Center is developing two innovative coatings for the energy saving window coating SunSmart and a dirt-repellent colored coating for BIPV. The coatings now leave the lab and are being integrated into buildings for piloting. Successful development towards commercialization of the coatings will be enabled by the consortium consisting of material producers and end users.
BIPV; Colored solar panels in a construction building in Maastricht
Within the project, 300 dirt-repellent colored solar panels will be produced and integrated into a construction building in Maastricht. The colored coating makes it possible to give the building a special appearance and via the dirt-repellent nature, the panels stay longer clean. Moreover, the panels are placed as façade elements of the building and not on the roof in order to make optimal use of solar energy. The performance of the dirt-repellent colored BIPV panels will be monitored during and after the project.
SunSmart; Smart thermochromic windows in the SolarBeat test building of TNO
In addition to the BIPV panels, two smart thermochromic windows will be produced and integrated in TNO test buildings at SolarBEAT in Eindhoven. These SunSmart coatings ensure that heat from the sun can be optimally used for heating a house in the winter whilst being blocked from entering the building in the summer. In this way, the energy consumption for heating houses in winter and for cooling houses in summer is reduced. At lab scale and with building energy simulations, it has been established that this new technology can have a major impact on the energy consumption of a building and work best in a climate as we know in the Netherlands. The performance of this thermochromic double glazing will be monitored during and after the project.
Sustainable solutions
One of the main goals of the Paris Agreement is the transition to a climate-neutral built environment. Sustainable energy generation and energy saving in the built environment are essential for achieving the agreed objectives. The innovative coatings contribute to this by directly increasing energy savings and increasing implementation rate of on-site green energy generation. The pilot line, which is also being developed and established in this project, will be made available at a reasonable rate to regional companies, especially SMEs, for their development and upscaling activities. To stimulate the local industry in this way.
Interested in the development within one of our projects? Contact eugene.veerkamp@brightlandsmc.com.