Solardachpfanne.NRW - Electricity and heat supply from solar energy

The idea: when roofing a house, a solar system is automatically installed because the entire system is integrated into the roof tiles themselves. This means no additional, bulky solar modules, but a visually appealing and simple roof covering that is also safe from storms and hail, can be walked on without any problems and is particularly energy-efficient. Funded by the NRW ERDF program, the company paXos from Langenfeld and its around 40 employees worked on this project together with scientists from the Technical University of Cologne.

Mass production in view

In the Solardachpfanne.NRW project, the researchers wanted to implement the concept of photovoltaics in combination with solar thermal energy. The initial aim was to research the technological basis in order to develop and optimize the solar roof tile so that it can later be mass-produced industrially and used like a conventional roof tile. To achieve this, the solar roof tile must have specific properties: It must be heat-resistant, durable, recyclable and fire protection-compliant. During the development phase, the focus was on both the individual solar roof tile and the overall system, i.e. the series connection of several roof tiles.

Request from Bellevue Palace

The development phase was followed by the construction of a prototype together with a conventional comparative roof surface and a one-year measurement phase. During this time, the performance of the system was examined in order to determine its cost-effectiveness, and ageing and wear were also observed. Even during the test phase, it became clear how popular the Langenfeld-based company's idea was. For example, the managing directors received an inquiry from Schloss Bellevue, the seat of the Federal President, whose roof was to be re-roofed in the most climate-efficient way possible. For this, paXos reproduced the original roof tiles true to the original.

Series production is being prepared

The company Meyer Burger acquired the rights to the solar roof tile and is taking care of industrialization and sales. With the sale of the rights to the solar roof tile, the project is an excellent example of how funding from the ERDF program is not only used to develop innovations and bring them to the test phase, but also how the funding program ultimately results in very specific products that have a positive impact on our everyday lives and contribute to climate protection.