Inaventa Solar has built a pioneering production facility for solar collectors that runs on solar energy and clean hydro power. It is already what we can call a sustainable factory, but the production process can be further improved by introducing a higher degree of digitization and automation. To explore the possibilities for achieving an even more sustainable and cost-effective production process, Inaventa Solar accepted an invitation to participate in the Horizon Europe project Flex4Fact, which aims to develop an end-to-end platform for energy optimized production operations. 

Seasonal storage of solar heat can make the energy available throughout the year. When the solar heat is deposited in the ground, it can be harvested when needed, even through the coldest and darkest winter months. Inaventa Solar is developing an innovative concept for seasonal in-ground storage of heat, which also can also facilitate efficient storage where there is a lot of water in the ground - storage of heat in water-rich masses. At our solar collector factory at Jevnaker, Norway, we have drilled deep energy storage wells, which we are now starting to “charge” with energy from the roof-integrated solar heating system at the factory building, combined with surplus heat from the production plant. The stored energy will be used to heat the factory hall in winter and to extend the growing season in a nearby greenhouse.

Inaventa Solar has now completed the pioneering production facility for solar collectors at the company’s factory in Jevnaker. With this step, Norwegian solar collector technology is finally put into industrial production, and the new production line is the first of its kind globally. The collectors are produced in a high-performing, lightweight polymer material that has better environmental values than the metals traditionally used in this type of product. After 18 months of construction and commissioning, the production plant is now up and running. Annual production capacity stands at 600,000 square meters of solar collectors.

Inaventa Solar is now in the process of completing a new production line for solar collectors based on high performance polymers (HPP) at our factory at Jevnaker, 70 km north of Oslo. The solar collectors are lightweight, can be produced in any length, and are specifically designed for aesthetic building integration. Making solar collectors in high-performing polymer materials, however, places great demands on both production equipment and control systems, and we are dependent on continuous process optimization and a high degree of digitization. Introducing a digital twin - ie, a virtual copy of the entire production line - will be the next step in our digitization process, enabling real-time prediction, optimization and improved decision-making. The digital twin will be connected to the production line's own control system and ensure an even more cost-effective and sustainable solar collector production process.

People want to have a choice between different colors – also when it comes to solar collectors. The problem is that colored solar collectors are far from as effective as the black ones. One solution is to paint the collectors with selective coatings, but most existing coatings are quite expensive and not very environmentally friendly. In the R&D project WABASELCOAT (WAter BAsed SELective COATings for intelligent facade collectors), nanotechnology has been used to develop multi-functional coatings for improving the performance and the visual aesthetics of polymeric solar collectors. Sustainability and cost efficiency have been key requirements throughout the product development phase.