Partners
Industry: Compoform, Exasun, Energyra, HyET Solar, IM Efficiency, Lightyear Layer, MCPV, Solarge, Taylor
Research and development: TNO, NWO-Instituut AMOLF, Universities of Amsterdam, Delft, Eindhoven, Groningen, Twente, Utrecht
Human capital: Universities of Applied Science Amsterdam, Hanze, Saxion, Zuyd
SolarNL Executive Board
Albert Polman, NWO-Instituut AMOLF, chair
Dick Heslinga, MCPV
Maria Fennis, HyET Solar
Gerard de Leede, Solarge
Jan Hoegee, TNO
SolarNL Program Office
NN, program director
Marco van der Laan, program secretary
Tom Veeken, program secretary
The program office is located at NWO-Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam,
Program partners
The consortium partners span the entire PV R&D and industry range. MCPV will drive the silicon heterojunction innovation program and build the new HJT cell factory in Veendam (Groningen). HyET Solar will develop the perovskite foil manufacturing technology; Solarge, Exasun and Energyra develop new PV products for building integration, Lightyear Layer and IM Efficiency for use in cars and trucks. Taylor Technologies creates specialty electronics to enable the new PV integration concepts. TNO will carry out technology research and build two R&D-pilot lines to provide key technical input to the industrial partners. Underpinning academic research will be carried out by the Dutch SolarLab consortium, composed of NWO-Institute AMOLF and the universities of Amsterdam, Delft, Eindhoven, Groningen, Utrecht and Twente. A human capital program mobilizes applied (mbo, hbo) and academic educational institutions to train the skilled workers needed across the growing national PV ecosystem. A tailored governance structure with a central program office will connect all partners and stimulate cross-fertilization between the program lines.
The industrial program partners have strong records in PV technology development and manufacturing. MCPV is a start-up carried by internationally renowned PV experts; HyET has made roll-to-roll PV manufacturing its specialty since many years. The Dutch building-PV companies have an excellent record of small-scale production of tailored products poised to scale up. TNO has a decades long international standing in PV technology development. The academic PV research is of very high level and well connected to Horizon Europe and other international initiatives. The participating universities have strong educational programs in PV and energy technology. Consortium members also play key roles in creating European PV roadmaps and policies.
The program will bring this national solar PV ecosystem to a new level of innovation and economic impact. Other opportunities for PV start-ups and scale-ups are expected to emerge and will be developed with active participation of Invest-NL and regional development agencies.
The program will have two open calls, organised by RVO and NWO to enable participation of other companies in the program.
MCPV is a European startup in the solar PV manufacturing industry with strong Dutch roots, founded in 2019. MCPV has built a unique European team of international top experts with knowledge in the field of heterojunction type silicon solar cells, strong experience in the manufacturing industry and process technology, as well as market and policy knowledge. www.mcpv.eu.
Solarge International B.V., a company from the HTSM sector, started developing lightweight solar PV modules at the beginning of 2018, on the basis of an initiative by construction company Heijmans, TNO, knowledge institute Solliance and SABIC. Solarge is a supplier of new solar PV technology and uses fiber-reinforced polymers and a set of materials specially developed by SABIC. The panels have a circular design and a very low carbon footprint. Solarge is located in Weert and has 18 employees. In this project, Solarge contributes know-how and technical knowledge for the development of a very large and lightweight plastic Solar PV panel and immediately opens up a new and potentially very large market. www.solarge.com
Compoform BV, established in Ospel, is a subsidiary of Giant Leap Composites B.V. (GLC), which was created in March 2021 from a collaboration between Compo-Group and Dutch Composites. GLC has over 40 years of experience in developing composite structures. It specializes in the development of lightweight (organo) sandwich panels, with an emphasis on sustainability, recycling and strong material properties. Appropriate designs are supplied based on customer requests. Compoform is the trade name of GLC and is active in the construction and automotive markets. www.giantleapcomposites.com
Exasun is a producer of integrated solar panels with high efficiency. Its R&D and product development focuses on further integration, aesthetic improvement, low environmental damage and circularity of its products. Exasun’s production has been located in The Hague/Ypenburg since 2016. The company has 50 employees and an annual turnover of 6 million euros (2022). When recruiting personnel, Exasun works closely with the municipality of The Hague and the IND to give people on welfare or status holders a chance at work. www.exasun.com
Energyra Europe BV (Westknollendam) is a family business and scale-up with about forty employees. The company focuses on the development, production, supply and worldwide export of Solar PV solutions such as solar panels for use in the built environment and semi-finished products for developers of products in construction, infrastructure and mobility. Energyra’s current technology is based on the ‘back contact technology’ developed by TNO, which has been further developed by Energyra for application, production and application in solar PV products. Energyra’s production capacity is currently about 120 MWp and will grow to about 1.2 GWp in 2031. www.energyra.com
HyET Solar (Arnhem) develops solar PV technologies based on thin films that enable commercially viable, large-scale access to decentralized renewable energy sources. HyET Solar’s flexible thin-film solar technologies maximize the solar potential of all surfaces to deliver the lowest electricity costs, setting a new standard for photovoltaic power generation. HyET Solar has an active policy of developing applications of its technologies that support environmentally sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation in the world. www.hyetsolar.com
IM Efficiency was founded in 2016 and has offices in Helmond and Heerlen. IM Efficiency has developed a solar energy system that makes commercial transport more sustainable by equipping trailers with thin solar panels, a lithium battery and an energy management system. The specific knowledge of IM Efficiency is contained in a patented energy management system. IM Efficiency sells the fully installed system as an end product to carriers. IM Efficiency has a strong R&D innovation focus to make commercial transport more sustainable. www.imefficiency.com
Lightyear Layer B.V. is a subsidiary of Atlas Technologies Holding B.V. which has been active since 2016 as a developer of solar cars. The company originated from the Solar Team Eindhoven. Lightyear Layer B.V. has its own facility in Venray where solar roofs are developed and produced for the broad VIPV market. Lightyear Layer develops complete solar systems (solar panels, electronics and associated user interface software applications) for a broad group of customers including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive industry, Tier-1 suppliers to automotive OEM and companies in the maritime industry, in addition to the application in the Lightyear 2 car. www.lightyear.one
Note regarding the participation of Lightyear Layer B.V.: Lightyear Layer B.V. (development of solar roofs for VIPV) and Atlas Technologies B.V. (development Lightyear 0 car) are subsidiaries of Atlas Technologies Holding B.V. At the time of the completion of this proposal, the bankruptcy of subsidiary Atlas Technologies B.V. was announced. The company Lightyear Layer B.V. continues its work, focusing on the development of integrated solar panels as described above. The innovation program for this technology is at the heart of program line 3 (BIPV, VIPV).
Taylor Technologies B.V. (Eindhoven) was founded in 2017 as a spin-off of the TUE and develops and markets microelectronics and software for the solar PV industry. Taylor specializes in cell-string optimization technology, supplying specialized electronics to solar panel manufacturers and gateways and software to solar PV installers. Taylor works with renowned industrial parties such as Amphenol for production and has supplied 34,000 units to renowned solar panel manufacturers to date. www.taylor.solar
TNO, the Dutch organization for applied scientific research, aims to make knowledge applicable for companies and governments. As an organization governed by public law, TNO has an independent position. TNO has seven units, of which the Energy & Materials Transition unit includes the Solar Energy and Solar Technologies & Applications expertise groups, which are located in advanced solar PV innovation labs in Petten and Eindhoven. TNO has more than 3,000 employees and an annual turnover of more than 500 million euros. www.tno.nl
SolarLab is the national network of solar PV researchers. It has a joint research agenda for the realization of stable, sustainable solar cells with high efficiency and forms a powerful ecosystem with a strong voice for Dutch solar PV research at home and abroad. SOLARLab aims to strengthen the Solar-PV collaboration in the Netherlands, share facilities and coordinate financing flows. SOLARLab comprises more than 50 research groups with about 160 PhD students and postdocs at 5 main hubs AMOLF, RUG, TUD, TUE and UT, satellite groups at UU, RUN and UvA, and about 60 technology researchers at TNO. www.solarlab-nl.org
