JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017 - 4

OPlNlON renewable energy

lnnovative solutions for
architecture and construction
Das Energy offers solutions for building-integrated photovoltaics and ultralight photovoltaic solutions, such as
for complex static rooftop systems. Together with their
partners, they also develop new products with integrated photovoltaics, as well as innovative and flexible
custom photovoltaic solutions for special projects.

Robert Buchinger: DAS Energy

was founded in 2010 as a joint venture
between two partners, combining two
different kinds of knowledge. Diamond
Aircraft brought in the expertise of
the composite materials and their
industrialization, and Alternative Energy
Solutions brought in the expertise of the
photovoltaic (PV) industry from both the
product and the project points of view.

What products do you offer today?

R. B.: Today, DAS Energy offers flexible,
lightweight PV modules, designed and
made in Austria. Our product portfolio
addresses two different fields: building integration, with different solutions for new
buildings as well as retrofit solutions; and
special mobile applications like golf carts,
yachts, etc.
Why use composite materials?

R. B.: It was clear from the beginning
that meeting our own requirements of low
weight and flexibility would only be possible with the help of composite materials. In
our case, only composite materials could
make the structure of our PV modules flexible and exceptionally transparent at the
same time.
What is your medium-term development
strategy?

R. B.: We currently operate a pilot factory

in Austria, with a nominal capacity of 55

RobeRt buchingeR,
Chief Technology Officer,
DAS Energy

MWp p.a. Our focus is on the expansion
of this capacity through different partnerships, to produce locally and offer our
products on new markets.
Are you looking at alliances with other
green energy players?

R. B.: At DAS Energy, we believe in true,

committed partnerships. Developing innovative solutions requires relationships
based on trust with your partners, to be
able to think out of the box and break the
known boundaries. As a PV module manufacturer, we are also in permanent contact
with the manufacturers of the other components of a PV system: mounting structure, inverters, cabling, etc. Our focus is to
transfer our technology to licensees all over
the world to enable local production and
bring the technology to the markets.

JEC Composites Magazine: Can you remind
us of the company origins and its creation?

with

Today, DAS Energy offers flexible,
lightweight PV modules, designed
and made in Austria
What are the sectors and applications that
drive growth today?

R. B.: As mentioned above, DAS Energy

offers its product to different markets.
These markets are quite different, but are
also very complementary for us. Rooftop
projects, architectural solutions for facades, e-vehicles, off-grid applications and
yachts... all these markets are in constant
growth for us. Of course, such steady
growth can only be achieved when you
bring the right product to the market, at

jec composites magazine / N°116 October 2017

the right time and with the best quality.
Pushing the boundaries of conventional
photovoltaics makes us an enabler of new
solutions - we enable our partners to rethink new applications.
Which sectors of application are you
primarily targeting in the future?

R. B.: When founding DAS Energy,
the driving idea was to be able to break
through the limitations of conventional
PV modules to allow the development of
PV projects where it was otherwise impossible. As an example, the low weight of our
modules (~ 3 kg/m²) allows the installation of a PV system even on roofs with
a very low weight allowance. This is very
often the case in the retrofit market, e.g.
for commercial and industrial buildings.
But airport terminals, metro stations and
railway coaches are also market segments
with big potential for us. Our technology
allows the deployment of green energy in
such areas.
Do you have priority geographic areas?

R. B.: As a growing company, we cannot
address all regions at the same time. We
started, logically, with Europe. But very
quickly, thanks to the trade shows and our
growing networks, we received requests
from all over the world, from Uruguay to
Australia, from India to Canada. So our
strategy is to find the right local partner to
produce our products and be a production
hub between DAS Energy and the local
market.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #116 - October 2017