Printed OPV solar umbrellas

The Thüringen State Horticultural Show will be opening in Apolda at the end of April with the slogan “Blossoms and so much more in Apolda”. At the same time, the state of Thüringen will be inaugurating its “Climate Pavilion” which will initially serve as an exhibition area for the State Horticultural Show and will later be used for other events in Thüringen.

ASCA, market leader in the field of printed organic photovoltaics, has supplied an architecturally integrated photovoltaic system based on organic photovoltaics (OPV). It takes the form of solar umbrellas mounted on the external supporting structure of the dome. The pavilion planned by Prof. Jürgen Ruth (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, bluekon 3) and Andreas Reich (reich.architekten bda, Weimar) and commissioned by the Thüringen Energy and Green-Tech Agency (ThEGA) is a translucent half-sphere and is supplied with shade and electricity by the 20 solar umbrellas.

The solar umbrellas developed from an idea proposed by Prof. Ruth consist of several OPV modules laminated between two polycarbonate plates (PC). The resulting semi-transparent umbrellas are both light, highly durable and unbreakable. ASCA used blue, clear-transparent free-form OPV modules for the project, based on the Lisicon^® brand developed by Merck KGaA as an active material. The Climate Pavilion concept includes plans for use after the State Horticultural Show and at different locations. This is why the Pavilion has been designed for easy dismantling and reconstruction. The light OPV solar umbrellas make a valuable contribution here as they are light in weight and easy to assemble.