June 23, 2016 - Heliatek has implemented, with its partner Kandil Steel, its first building integrated Organic Photovoltaic (BIOPV) pilot project in Africa. HeliaFilm, Heliatek's organic solar film, is at the core of this installation in Egypt, which represents a first test project for further steel applications by Kandil Steel. The project was funded and managed by Kandil Steel, a leading steel provider in Egypt. The company is working on new solutions for distributed energy generation because of rising energy prices and declining government subsidies. The company plans to establish the combination of its steel panels with HeliaFilm as a new product for the BiPV market.
Egypt's hot and sunny weather conditions are ideal for HeliaFilm due to its high temperature performance, leading to outstanding energy harvesting results. Moving to renewable energy sources is inevitable and this is supported in Egypt by both the government and Community. Moreover, this project emphasizes Kandil's vision to provide innovative solutions to its customers as well as keeping its responsibility towards the Environment. In this installation, the HeliaFilms have a custom length of 2.5m and are combined with steel as an integrated building material.
Kandil Steel has chosen opaque and blue HeliaFilm. The development of HeliaFilm is carried out by Heliatek in Dresden, Germany and the target is to establish a high volume manufacturing line by 2018.
