Solarix

You say that Solarix offers different sizes and colours. Is that what sets Solarix apart? What exactly does your solution look like?

A façade panel is a flat plate, a kind of tile, that consists of a front glass plate, a layer of solar cells and a rear glass plate. We can add colour to that front glass plate using our unique colour technology. In recent years we have also developed a unique mounting system, which makes installing the panels easier. 

From day one we knew we wanted to bring an attractive product to the market, something that professionals and consumers really want for their building. A solar panel is a tough and technical product. We wanted to add an aesthetic and soft quality to it.

Together with our team of designers, we have put a lot of energy into the colour development and the texture of our product, the feeling that the product elicits. This has made us popular with architects, who are always looking for beautiful materials for their projects. Our current collection is a candy store of delights for architects and designers. 

We first served the higher end of the market with our products in a wide range of colours and customised panel options. But we have gone through a transition in recent years. Today we also offer a standard collection, with fewer options but therefore at a sharper price point. An interesting development is that legacy real estate renovation projects need to be become far more sustainable. In terms of aesthetics and heritage properties, there is a lot of resistance to using standard black panels on beautiful old buildings, so we are also interesting for that market. We now offer a terracotta-coloured panel for roofs, for example, to make 1930s homes more sustainable. 

You are ambitious; your solar panels must be beautiful, work well for architects and preferably be circular. But making 100% sustainable choices is difficult, one choice can limit the other. What are your biggest dilemma’s, do you face difficult decisions or trade-offs?

Our company is doing very well now, but in the beginning not everyone was enthusiastic about our idea. The construction sector is conservative, and so is the world of solar. People don't like change. But we persevered and now we see that the construction industry, partly due to stricter sustainability regulations, is running to catch up. Nowadays, buildings must generate a percentage of the energy they use through renewable sources. As this is often not possible using roof panels alone, you really need to utilize the façade of buildings to meet those criteria. 

But a solar panel alone is not enough. We are dependent on façade builders who understand the product and installers who do their work well. When we first started, these parts of the process were poorly organised and so we started executing these tasks ourselves.

This was necessary to deliver the desired quality and to achieve the impact we wanted. Fortunately, we are now at a point where good companies have emerged who are specializing in these areas. And we can focus on our own product.

Perhaps the most important question in our industry: how much energy can the panel absorb? That's a dilemma. Our colour palette sets us apart, but the degree of solar energy absorption depends on the colour density: the denser the colour, the less energy you can generate. This is where we are constantly researching and experimenting; ensuring we can get the absolute most out of the product in terms of both colour impact and energy output. Without adding colour or texture, as with standard roof panels, your energy yield is greater. However, we offer a product that many more people want to use. The alternative is that people do not generate any energy at all with their façades. 

The fact is that you can’t get it all right on the first try. So, our aim is to put the best product on the market within the parameters we have right now. Now we are working to minimise the materials, especially plastic, used in the packaging of our product and to reuse the packaging materials. All these small innovations add up, and this is the mindset we bring to the process every day. Circularity is one of the most important themes within Solarix.