German pavilion at EXPO 2015 incorporates organic photovoltaics

 

For the German pavilion at the EXPO 2015 in Milano, Italy, architects have found new ways to incorporate photovoltaics. The building is the first big international architecture project, which uses new products based on organic photovoltaic technology (OPV). In contrast to conventional solar modules, the flexible, foil-integrated OPV modules by German-based BELECTRIC OPV GmbH can be integrated easily into the innovative architectural design.

“Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” is the motto of EXPO 2015, which takes place from May to October. Germany has chosen the slogan “Fields of Ideas” in order to showcase itself as a vivid, fertile “landscape” full of ideas for the nutrition of the future. A central element of the pavilion are stylised plants, which are depicted as the “cores for ideas” and grow into the air, where they end up in a giant roof made out of leaves. The energy-generating solar trees have been fabricated by incorporating the BELECTRIC OPV modules. “They adapt themselves to the requirements of the architects and designers, not vice versa,” says Hermann Issa, director business development & sales at BELECTRIC OPV and project director for OPV usage in the German pavilion.

“The solar trees connect the interior and exterior part of the building, as well as architecture and exhibition – and they create some much needed shadows during the hot EXPO months,” adds Lennart Wiechell, head architect and managing partner at Schmidhuber. “Moreover, the OPV modules can lower the external energy consumption of the building and thus contribute to resource sustainability.”