At the BMW Group vehicle plant in Dingolfing, the sun-facing facades of three eye catching (more than 45 meter high) towers were fitted with HeliaSol® solar modules. HeliaSol® modules are super light-weight and flexible, fully developed and manufactured in Germany, and are ideal for all those building surfaces unsuited for standard (heavy) solar panels. The total system has a capacity of around 22 kWp and is directly used in the Dingolfing plant’ operations. HeliaSol® modules are TÜV certified according to IEC 61730 and IEC61215.

The modules are affixed directly to the concrete facades within days. This is a great example of how building surfaces can be used for electricity generation that was previously not possible, thus avoiding the construction of additional, dedicated solar areas such as solar farms.

Christoph Schröder, plant manager at BMW in Dingolfing, emphasizes the nature of the project as a practical test at the plant:

“We are supporting an innovative technology in its development and industrialization phase ... and verifying it in practice at our plant.”

Short energy and CO₂ payback time

Next to its unique versality, allowing it to be installed on virtually every building surface, another key feature of Heliatek technology is its fast energy and carbon payback time (EPBT and CPBT). After a relatively short operating time, the HeliaSol® modules already have generated the amount of energy that was needed for its manufacturing. Accordingly, the CO₂ balance resulting from production and installation is also offset within a short period of time. This means that building owners already start to reduce their CO2 footprint within a matter of weeks after installation!

These short energy and carbon payback times are possible due to the efficient use of material, the material composition and mild temperature manufacturing and installation process of HeliaSol® solar films, which does not require glass or heavy support structures. Furthermore, no toxic or scarce raw materials are used in the modules.

Guido van Tartwijk, CEO of Heliatek, is also thrilled with the project:

“We would like to thank BMW for their eagerness to use our technology at their industrial site. Projects like these are very important because they provide practical experience and support the further, global roll-out of our solutions.”

Lars-Oliver Schröder, Head of Sales & Marketing at Heliatek:

“The collaboration with BMW enables us to evaluate the integration of our PV film into existing industrial plants during ongoing operations. We would like to express our sincere thanks for this trust and the cooperative implementation.”