MC 2.0

Mass customization (MC) is a new PhotoVoltaic (PV) manufacturing concept based on cleverly designed semi-fabricates

Mass Customization (MC) is a new PhotoVoltaic (PV) manufacturing concept based on cleverly designed semi-fabricates

The MC2.0-project will demonstrate how automated manufacturing of Integrated PV (IPV) elements using the mass customization approach can deliver a cost breakthrough in IPV facades, IPV windows and IPV roofs.

In the past 25 years, many integrated photovoltaics (IPV) products have been introduced and demonstrated. Mostly Building Integrated (so-called BIPV) products, but more recently also Infrastructure (IIPV) and Vehicle (VIPV) products. However, large scale deployment and massive market adoption of these technologies and products have not yet taken place.

We are at the brink of a huge scale-up and capacity build-up of PV in Europe, that will have a large effect on our living environment. Therefore, it is now urgent and essential that IPV products become widely available and affordable. This is important (1) to generate solar electricity where the demand is (in the built environment) and (2) to enable multifunctional use of area and space in the built environment.

Several parties in the MC2.0 consortium have more than 20 years of experience in IPV development and as such have been involved in many earlier projects and studies. We believe that the number one barrier for large scale market uptake of IPV is the high cost. Other – secondary but also important – barriers are immature sector cooperation and certification issues.

The overarching ambition of the MC2.0 project is to demonstrate a cost breakthrough for IPV by means of an advanced manufacturing approach, referred to as “mass customization”. In coherence with this approach, we will contribute to solving the other identified barriers.

To realize this ambition, the MC2.0 consortium brings together experts and companies on materials for PV laminates (including PV cells), on manufacturing of PV laminates, on manufacturing of IPV products and on market and application of IPV products.

Photography: Bart van Overbeeke

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 10109613

Events

Meet our partner Jochen Schuermans from Roartis

5 September 2023

Roartis, based in Genk, Belgium specializes in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of specialty adhesives, often customized, for electronic applications. Our portfolio covers a wide range of materials, from electrically conductive adhesives, to thermally conductive resins, (micro-)encapsulation materials, sintering pastes, conductive inks, UV-curable adhesives and coatings, etc. With state of the art laboratories, we’ve been...

Events

Meet our partner prof. Francesco Frontini from SUPSI

21 July 2023

SUPSI is a University of Applied Science located in Switzerland with different research institutes dealing with architecture and environment, Design, Technology and IT and other. The sector I am leading is working since more than 20 years in the integration of renewable energy in the built environment and sustainable construction as BIPV. What’s your role...

Events

First project results

12 May 2023

The MC2.0 project recently delivered its first results. Requirement specifications documents have been composed for each of the Integrated PV (IPV)-products that are developed in the project. This is the result after thorough discussions and close collaboration among all the contributing partners. Within our project, a total of 4 IPV-products are addressed: pitched roof tiles,...