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Fraunhofer ISE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT are out there innovating once more, as they tend to do. Could their latest advancement break through in a market that’s been hyped for at least a decade but never come to much?
The sector I’m referring to is building-integrated solar PV (BIPV). In this case, the scientists at Fraunhofer ISE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT have created a prefabricated building façade element that integrates solar PV. Being BIPV, the promise is always the same — combining the normal building material benefits of weather protection and insulation with electricity generation, you’re getting a much more useful building material. The issue is just going to be the cost — if the BIPV material costs 10x instead of 5x and electricity generation costs only total 2x, you’re not going to save money (you’re going to spend a lot more), and that extra usefulness is just a mirage.
But have the Fraunhofer folk found a way to cut costs enough and make a product that’s commercially competitive? The prefab part here is reportedly going to help bring down construction times, and thus costs, as well, so that could help make a difference.
“The façade system, developed by the research team, allows the individual BIPV façade elements to be dismantled independently of its adjacent elements. BIPV façades can therefore be implemented quickly and easily in building class 1 to 3 applications. By eliminating the need for a substructure, large amounts of materials are saved compared to classic constructions for BIPV elements with curtain-type, rear-ventilated façades.” That sounds important. However, despite the repeated implications, there is no word on cost cutting at all. The idea is clearly planted, but there’s no explicit comment on this all-important matter.
Fraunhofer ISE notes that the scientists developed two versions of the new BIPV element. Here are some more details on that: “The insulation material of one is made of hemp fibers and the second with a mushroom material. The size of both is 1.0 x 1.5 square meters. The insulation is inserted into the BIPV façade element in such a way that the individual components and materials can be reseparated at any time in the future.”
The researchers are still crunching all the numbers, which is perhaps why not many numbers have been provided. Prototypes were installed on a Fraunhofer IBP building in October, and now they are “undergoing intensive monitoring to test their electrical yield, durability, temperature, humidity and thermal insulation properties during operation in real world conditions.” I presume they can then determine and share whether or not these BIPV façade elements can actually cut construction costs or are basically just a fun science project. Of course, Fraunhofer ISE implies that this will be a competitive product — that’s the aim. “Future construction projects will be supported by a digital process description for the correct design of the BIPV system and for installation.”
Want to see the new BIPV products? Be sure to attend a world-leading trade show for building materials and stop by their booth. “Visitors to the BAU, the world’s leading trade show held in Munich from January 13 to 17, 2025, can view two variants of the BIPV façade elements at the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance’s stand. The façade element was developed as part of the Fraunhofer flagship project ‘BAU-DNS’.”
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