An international team of floating PV specialists and researchers works on affordability, sustainability and reliability, and applies the latest technologies to speed up acceptance.
An international team of Floating PV (FPV) specialists is working on improving the prospects for FPV by finding ways to make it more affordable, while it makes it environmentally friendly and efficient to implement.
Based on a conviction that the best way to accelerate FPV’s approval, further improving cost efficiency and sustainability in the markets where FPV is competitive today, a three -year project started in September 2024 with € 7.1 million ($ 7.4 million) in financing the Horizon Europe program. The title of the project is sustainable, reliable and efficient floating PV energy plants, or simply FPV.
Goals include cost-effective robust designs, implementation guidelines and lower level energy costs (LCOE). The team develops structural and functional requirements of FPV products throughout the life cycle of the product and verifies a long service life and reliability. It includes understanding the impact on ecosystems and biodiversity.
The project presents FPV products that are modular and easy for project developers to adjust coverage ratios, light penetration and layouts. It also develops models and frameworks to reduce financial and reliability risks.
The scope includes a variety of water countries, including salt water corrosion and certain states with a higher sea.
Three European FPV specialist companies participating in the project plan to complete various installations. Ciel et Terre (CTI) will develop and test its newest floater design within the Sure FPV project, first in an installation of 50 kW, then 5 MW. It will work with Laketricity, a unit of CTI, to build the pilot.
Colleague FPV specialist Zimmermann PV Stahlbau (ZIM) works together with Baywa Re to build a 5 MW facility based on ZIM’s newest floater, connection and anchoring technology. Elsewhere, sun -drenched sea, which scales up its FPV solution, will build a smaller, commercially relevant pilot of 100 kW on the Norwegian coast.
In addition, the Mesolar module manufacturer will investigate how the production can be adjusted for FPV applications, and Sabic Global Technologies NV will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of plastic components used for assembly.
European research institutions that join the Project Coordinator Norway-based Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) and the above-mentioned industrial partners are the Dutch organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Association.
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