Brite Photo voltaic, a Greek specialty module producer focusing on the agrivoltaics greenhouse and PV cover segments, is constructing a 150 MW manufacturing line. Advertising its modules to farming cooperatives, integrators and installers for the reason that finish of 2022, Brite photo voltaic has pilot installations in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. In January it introduced elevating $9.26 million in enterprise capital.
February 23, 2024
Greece-based specialty photo voltaic module producer Brite Photo voltaic has developed bifacial photovoltaic panels for purposes in agrivoltaic greenhouses and canopies.
The modules are primarily based on novel glass coating supplies and deposition know-how developed by Brite Photo voltaic itself. The coatings are positioned onto the back and front of the highest glass in commonplace glass-glass monocrystalline silicon photo voltaic modules.
“By combining our novel coatings with silicon-based photo voltaic cells, we now have optimized know-how appropriate for greenhouse purposes and crop protecting constructions, comparable to canopies, in open-field farming. Early installations have produced extraordinarily promising outcomes,” Brite Photo voltaic CEO, Nick Kanopoulos, informed pv journal.
He defined that one of many coatings has each anti-reflective and hydrophobic properties. It’s deposited on the surface of the top-side glass. “The opposite coating is deposited on the within of the identical glass panel to downshift ultraviolet gentle. To downshift implies that the ultraviolet gentle is absorbed by the coating after which emitted on the opposite facet within the crimson area of seen gentle the place it may be utilized by each vegetation and photo voltaic cells,” added Kanopoulos, noting that ultraviolet gentle shouldn’t be required by vegetation nor photo voltaic cells.
“Our merchandise are optimized for crop safety and crop yields. Energy technology is necessary as a supply of earnings or self-use, however it’s secondary to farming,” stated Kanopoulos, making the purpose that Brite Photo voltaic panels have a decrease energy ranking, in comparison with equally sized standard modules, as a result of they’re optimized for photosynthetic power wanted for plant development.
Different advantages of the panel know-how claimed by the Greek firm embody crop safety from hostile climate situations, assortment of rainwater, and lowered water evaporation quantity.
In January, Brite Photo voltaic introduced an €8.6 million ($9.26 million) sequence A spherical of enterprise capital to construct a producing line in Patras, Greece, which may have an preliminary capability of 150 MW. It has plans to ultimately double it to 300 MW. Till now, Brite Photo voltaic has produced its merchandise with contract manufacturing companions in China and India.
It had a low-key launch of its first merchandise just a little over a 12 months in the past, advertising to giant farming cooperatives, challenge builders, and specialised installers. In the meantime, it developed pilot tasks positioned in Canada, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Netherlands, america, France, Spain, Romania and Singapore, in keeping with Kanopoulos.
“The manufacturing line combines the coating and the agrivoltaic panel meeting in a single, absolutely automated manufacturing line,” stated Kanopoulos, including that the tools is provided by European tools producers. “We regulate the panel transparency to the goal crop’s gentle necessities and the geographic location of the farm. A pear crop in Greece has fairly a unique year-round irradiation profile in comparison with one positioned in Germany.”
Brite has protected its know-how with patents within the European Union, China and the US, that are its three focus markets for the time being.
The enterprise capital spherical was led by Greece-based New Power Companions, joined by early traders, European Innovation Council Fund, Brace Agri Photo voltaic Holdings of Luxembourg, and Deep Investments Restricted of Malta, in keeping with Kanopoulos.
Picture: Brite Photo voltaic
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