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Description
Greenhouse farming is a potential solution to the worldwide food demands, as it can increase the food production up to 1000% per hectare, compared to open field agriculture, while at the same time reducing the amount of water needed to grow crops by 900%. However, greenhouses require additional energy for heating, cooling, ventilation, and pumping, which represents 25% of the total operating costs. Reducing this cost is therefore an interesting value.
Brite Hellas S.A. will develop a transparent solar glass (mean transparency of at least 70%). The solar glass will have viable applications in greenhouses to generate electricity while also allowing light to pass through (as the panel is only party covered by silicon PV cells). To produce the solar glass, the glass is first coated with a nanocoating that BriteSolar has developed and patented and then the glazed glass is used to manufacture PV panels. The project included the fine tuning of the proprietary nanocoating to allow for a uniform transparency in the visible light spectrum and to shift UV light to visible (therefore improving the PV''s efficiency) as well as modifications of the glass to produce a panel of reduced thickness (to permit retrofitting in existing greenhouses) and to reduce the overall cost. The finalized product was pilot-tested in a greenhouse of 1,000 sqm in Ptolemaida, to validate the technology in a relevant operational environment.
The projects Norwegian partner, BOOST, who works within the field of innovation, especially with knowledge to international markets, will contribute to the project with a scale-up plan.
The project will result in 8 new jobs created, one IPR and increased revenues and competitiveness for Brite Hellas S.A.
Summary of project results
One of the biggest cost drives of a greenhouse operation are the energy costs (for heating, cooling and ventilation as well as the overall operation). The aim of the project was to develop a (partially) transparent solar glass that could be used on the roof of the greenhouses (instead of normal glass or plastic) and which could cover the energy costs of operating the greenhouse while at the same time not inhibit plant growth.
Through the project, Brite Hellas finalised the development of the solar glass. Specifically, a proprietary nano-coating for the glass was developed, which would shift part of the solar irradiance to either the red light spectrum or the blue light spectrum (to maximise crop yield) as well as an anti-reflective coating to maximize the transparency of the glass and optimise the energy efficiency. The nano-coated glass was then used to construct the solar glass by incorporating crystalline PV solar cells in the glass (with variable surface coverage to determine the overall transparency) which were fitted to a pilot greenhouse. IPR applications in the EU, Netherlands, China and the USA were also submitted during the project, and an external consultant from Norway (Boost) was hired to develop a scale up plan for the production of the solar glass.
Project outputs
- 1 new green technology developed (Solar Glass)
Project outcomes
- 8 new jobs created
- 4 IPR applications submitted
Profitability indicators will be measured after project completion.
Summary of bilateral results
The bilateral partner (Boost) developed a scale up plan for the production of the Solar Glass. It was a contractual based collaboration, that is not likely to continue after the project.