Generating power through a solar facade

In the western Münster region of Germany, the new administration building of the Gronau municipal utility has a facade that will generate environmentally friendly solar power in the future. BGT Bischoff Glastechnik GmbH integrated the custom-designed solar modules manufactured by ASCA — an ARMOR Group company and a world market leader in organic photovoltaics (OPV) — into the facade glass.

The project was conceived and carried out by the architects of H III S — harder stumpfl schramm freie Architekten from Stuttgart.

“The display window facing the street visualises the themes of energy and sustainability,” the architects said. To this end, the glass modules with integrated ASCA solar film measuring 3.66 by 2.25 metres were attached to the south facade of the new building, alternating with conventional glass panes.

“The size of the solar modules is world-class and no more complicated to produce than normal laminated glass panes. This represents a milestone for building integration of photovoltaics (BIPV),” said Hermann Issa, ASCA’s senior vice president in charge of Business Development & Project Management.

The glass facade at the administration building in Gronau covers an area of 222 square metres. “With this project, we are demonstrating how easy it is to manufacture solar-active facade elements with ASCA OPV products,” Issa said. “Planners and designers no longer have to worry about technical hurdles, even with customised facade modules of this enormous size.”

Transparent glass modules produce electricity

The municipal utility moved into the building in late 2022. While the glass modules allow light into the building from the outside, they also offer a sense of enclosure and security despite their transparency — while still providing employees with a full view outside. The electricity is produced by organic photovoltaic cells (OPV), which ASCA applies to films using a special printing process.

For the project in Gronau, ASCA produced green foils to match the surrounding clinker brick facade of the adjacent structures. The architects were impressed by how much influence they had in designing the solar foils. “Building-integrated photovoltaics is a hot topic that will continue to grow in importance in the future,” they said.

Images show different aspects of the solar facade with integrated solar modules by ASCA. Copyright: Mario Brand Werbefotografie.