Based in Brussels, the International Copper Association (ICA) Europe is the leading advocate for the copper industry in Europe. As ICA’s European branch, the organisation represents companies that mine, smelt and recycle copper for use across the economy, in the electricity system, buildings, transport and industry. Through a team of policy, industry and scientific experts, ICA Europe promotes copper as an essential material for achieving the EU’s ambition of a resilient, climate-neutral Europe and seeks to ensure that EU policies enable the sustainable production of copper to serve Europe’s future needs.
Solarthermalworld.org was initiated by ICA Europe in 2008 with the aim of providing stakeholders from research, public and private sector all around the globe with first-class information about solar heating and cooling to stimulate market growth. The ICA Europe has supported the hosting of the website until 2021 as well as the content gathering continuously since 2008.
Please see below our most recent articles:
44 MW in Kosovo, 27 MW in Serbia: solar district heating projects gain momentum
The realization of two huge solar district heating projects in the Balkans is progressing. The pre-qualification tender for a 44 MW collector field with seasonal storage in Pristina, Kosovo, ended on 11 April 2025. The second site is Novi Sad – a town in Serbia, where a 27 MW collector …
How Salaspils in Latvia detoxified its district heating
The integration of solar thermal energy into its district heating network has not only provided the small Latvian town of Salaspils near Riga with a more sustainable and emission-free heat supply, but also cheaper heating bills for the citizens connected to it. This was revealed in a presentation given by …
High solar heat fraction solutions supported by heat pumps
The German heating technology manufacturer Viessmann Climate Solutions has been part of Carrier Global, the largest US manufacturer of air conditioning systems, since March 2023. This merger is now also beginning to bear fruit in Germany. The German town of Bracht is not only benefiting from a turnkey solar heat …
Industrial heat pumps provide up to 90 °C for district heating from river water or air
Two innovative heat pump projects in the megawatt range connected to district heating grids went into operation in Germany last year. The installations from Johnson Controls International (JCI), Denmark, and Friotherm, Switzerland, are both designed to provide hot water of up to 90 °C for their respective district heating networks …
“Good contacts with more than 50 manufacturers of high-temperature heat pumps”
The market for high-temperature heat pumps for industrial applications is developing very dynamically. The number of manufacturers has doubled in the last six years. This is confirmed by Dr Cordin Arpagaus, who has been closely following the industry since 2018. As a Senior Research Engineer at the IES Institute for …
Difficult market environment for residential solar thermal providers in Germany
Fewer and fewer solar collectors are being bought in Germany: the negative trend from the previous year continued in the first quarter of 2024. Sales of solar collectors fell from just under 500 MW of capacity in 2022 to 263 MW in 2023 (see chart below). In previous years, the …
“Large-scale plants are a new league that solar companies alone cannot handle”
Roger Hackstock is celebrating his 20th anniversary as a solar thermal lobbyist this year. From 2002 to 2013 and again since 2016, he has headed the Austrian association Austria Solar. He is still bursting with positive energy when he talks about the challenges facing the future of his industry. He …
“PVT heat pump systems will become standard in the Netherlands”
After France, the Netherlands has the largest specific PVT area installed per 1,000 inhabitants in Europe. At the end of 2022, a total of 111,342 m2 of PVT collectors were in operation. Between 30,000 and 40,000 m2 are added every year. A well-established Dutch industry offers PVT elements. We spoke …
Big solar heat deal in the Chilean copper sector made possible by two people
Construction will start on three enormous solar industrial heat plants in Chile in the next months. The Chilean power utility Gasco is investing USD 71 million in three flat plate collector fields with a total capacity of 154 MW and will deliver heat for the electrowinning baths to the two …
Growing production capacities of PVT collectors in Europe
European PVT manufacturers are anticipating strong growth in demand and expanding their factories. In November 2023 Abora Solar from Spain inaugurated its extended factory in Zaragoza, which has a capacity of 200,000 units per year, totalling 80 MWel. Sunmaxx PVT is building a PVT production plant in Saxony, eastern Germany, …
Stable development for sunny Cyprus
In 2022 Cyprus achieved an impressive 5 % increase in its solar collector area additions, reaching the pre-Pandemic level of 74,000 m2 of newly installed collector area (51.8 MW). This growth was not only the result of the ongoing and extensive public grant schemes but also the “widespread development of …
Largest solar industrial heat plant in Germany heats gas
Mid-November was a turbulent week for the heat transition in Germany. On 21 November, one of the largest solar process heat plants in Germany went into operation – a 1.5 MW vacuum tube collector field for a gas pressure regulating system. In the same week, HeatExpo, a trade fair specifically …
