Pitch
High-Efficiency Transparent Solar Cogeneration Power Modules for Building Envelopes.
Description
Summary
Buildings account for over a third of the total energy consumption worldwide, and nearly 40% of global carbon footprint. As new construction projects increase at extreme rates to keep up with global population, drift to cities and economical growth trends, it becomes urgent to accelerate the sequence of architectural innovation, and to force the implementation of sustainable built ecologies and energy technology.
The 2010 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (1. European Commission), and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (2. ITER) project that China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia and the United States decided to build jointly, states that by 2018 buildings being constructed in Europe must have an energy consumption level that is nearly net zero. At this point in time, the technology to do so is not available on the market.
By incorporating a patent-protected (pending) optical sun tracking solution for the conversion of solar power in buildings, we introduce the world's first Building Integrated Concentrated Solar Power (BICSP) Technology. The system takes a dramatically different approach to providing buildings with electrical power, thermal energy, reduced solar gain, and enhanced transparency for daylighting. This next generation high efficiency system integrates architecturally into the building envelope, harvesting solar energy, while still providing outside views and diffuse daylight for the building users. BICSP has been developed by rawlemon through a series of prototypes (including cogeneration), and is currently integrated into building envelopes in Barcelona.
With the expertise from German institute Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-W. (3. ZSW), the system generates with an astonished transparency of 97% the same power rated output as a traditional full opaque PV panel per square metre and trims down the cell surface to 1%.
What actions do you propose?
Donating an open-patent license and providing knowledge and guidance for the entire US market.
Our goal is to creating a new academic-industrial alliance, to accelerate a more aggressively experimental process that leads to development of new systems that produce a paradigm shift in the way that our future cities metabolize energy and emit CO2 emissions. Our system is low tech and cheap to produce, making it an appropriate solution for this issue.
Rawlemon has received nominations by the World Economic Forum (4. Technology Pioneers 2015) and by the World Technology Network (5. WTN - 2013) as a finalist in category --Energy corporation--. We have won the first prize for our proposal Beta.ray in the category --design and innovation-- organized (6.) by the council of Barcelona, Beyond Building Barcelona and Green Building Council (GBCe) and we run a crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo (7.). But we still seek the alliance for this high competitive market to mount pilot projects.
We are working on two prototypes:
1. MicroTrack500HY (8.)
Cogeneration system (silicon PV and thermal collector)
2. MicroTrack100 (9.)
Multijunction PV (Germanium based cell material)
Both modules are equipped with our unique dual-axis tracking system. With the R&D for the Beta.ey80LIM mobile phone charger (7.), we provide
a.) motorized solution
b.) mechanical solution
for the tracking mechanism.
Regarding the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), the MicroTrack500HY has reached a scenario price of less Regarding the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), the MicroTrack500HY has reached a scenario price of less $15 cents/kWh. The costs vary depending on the specific investments and the number of full-load hours.5 cents/kWh. The costs vary depending on the specific investments and the number of full-load hours.
Who will take these actions?
USA based universities, organizations, industries and individual, if they agree with the open-patent pool proposed by Andre Broessel (100% assets).
Where will these actions be taken?
The demand for clean tech solutions is increasing worldwide. With the building directive (1.) inside the European Union, our focus is on those architects who want combine building efficiency and aesthetics. Pritzker prize architect --Shigeru Ban -- has already implemented our technology for the competition of Paris based --Le Monde-- headquarter in 2014 (8. Shigeru Ban) and Skidmore, Owings & Merril (SOM) was inviting us to present the project in NYC, in 2013.
If we found our alliance in USA, we will setup there the base for pilots.
How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?
A building located e.g. in NYC with a:
1,000 square metre MicroTrack500HY façade saves 413 tons CO2 livecycle emissions vs. coal electricity generation technologies.
The 11.5 square metre module produce 9 tons CO2/GWh.
With the development of
1. silicon based collectors, we trim down the cell surface to 25%.
2. germanium based collectors, trim down the cell surface to 1%.
The carbon footprint of the silicon cell material of a traditional PV panel is taking to account with 80%.
What are other key benefits?
- •Automatic optical tracking function through the ball lens
- Ball lens and tracking absorber can be decoupled (tracking system indoors - low maintenance
- •Concentration of diffuse light (efficient use in central Europe and Northern USA)
- •Can be completely integrated into a building envelope, without tilt losses
- •The façade model collector also features solar heat protection, regulating ambient solar gains in summer and winter
- •When integrated into a building, the damage caused from wind and snow loads is negligible
- •Due to the lack of shade produced by the ball lens, less space is required, leading to lower property costs.
- •In optics, the advantages of the ball lens compared to other lenses are that a shorter focal length means that we can produce 40 percent thinner modules; and the focal plane can be adjusted by filling the ball with different solutions
- •Can be extended for a media facade (Video Wall) / and other light scape projects, such as efficient street lighting
What are the proposal’s costs?
$ 500K for the setup of the MicroTrack500HY- 2.5kWp module
or
$ 1.5million for the setup of MicroTrack100-1.5kWp modules,
under the conditions proposed under actions.
Time line
Rawlemon will grow by focusing during the next 3 years in the two of the most powerful solar markets of USA and Germany, and plans on expanding into the rest of Europe and Japan soon thereafter.
As we continue with our research and development with this unique system, we are creating a knowledge base, which can be applied to a wide range of projects and collaborations. This has already given us three clear product lines, and others will certainly follow. As we also focus on a high aesthetic design we will create a brand which is not based on the mass market but on quality and longevity. With an incumbent partner a market launch could be in less than 2 years, ready for the directive (1.) in the EU.
Related proposals
References
1. European Commission - Buildings
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency/buildings
2. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
http://www.nature.com/news/nuclear-physics-pull-together-for-fusion-1.17708
3. ZSW
4. World Economic Forum - Technology Pioneers 2015
5. World Technology Network
http://www.wtn.net/content/rawlemon-basics
6. Council of Barcelona, Beyond Building Barcelona and Green Building Council (GBCe).
7. Indiegogo.com
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rawlemon-solar-devices#activity
8. Shigeru Ban architects, Tokyo
http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/works/2014_le-monde/index.html
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