Technology - prototype - product : a two-step approach to bring building-integrated thin film PV to the market

This one year PDEng project emerged from the Interreg V ‘PV OpMaat’ project that aims to develop three demonstrators that show promising applications of Thin Film Photovoltaics in building elements.
The PDEng project supported the ‘product and process development’ in the PV OpMaat project while securing the inclusion of both technology push and market pull factors in the development of the Thin Film technology. In order to reach this goal the six-step Method of Design Thinking and theories regarding Technology Transition were selected to be implemented in the PV OpMaat project and evaluated on their effectiveness.
Based on insights that followed from understanding TF technology and observing the market, a design challenge was defined. This resulted in the ideation of three demonstrator concepts:
1. Super flexible, custom-sized Thin Film foil from the roll on lightweight substrate for building applications
2. Thin Film Solar glazing in different transparencies for façade application
3. Custom sized and coloured Thin Film panels for solar façade application.
The third concept was elaborated on in the prototype phase and tested with the help of writing a business plan. This plan is presented as a separate report ‘Business plan Solar Façade: Making the ordinary extraordinary’, which explains how a Solar Façade could find its way to the market.