European Copper Institute (ECI) contributes to political debate, directly and through stakeholder platforms, sharing its expertise of copper-based products and technical building services and their contribution to the Commission goal of a carbon-neutral building stock. ECI has a considerable knowledge base and multidisciplinary expertise in technology, chemical policy and life cycle relating to copper and its applications. It also has established outreach channels aimed at supporting its advocacy towards the EU institutions.
Solarthermalworld.org was initiated by ECI 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 ECI has supported the hosting of the website as well as the content gathering continuously since 2008.
Please see below our most recent articles:
10 MW solar plant heats air for malting plant in France
A 10 MW flagship solar heat project was inaugurated on 20 September 2021 in Issoudun, Southern France, making it the largest solar industrial heat plant in France and the second largest in Europe. The 14,252 m2 solar collector fields now supply 10 % of the total heat requirement of the …
Innovation Fund approves EUR 4.5 million for Croatian SHIP plant
In July, French NewHeat was revealed to be among the 32 organisations whose applications were approved by the new EU Innovation Fund for small-scale projects. The EUR 4.5 million the company will receive from the fund will cover more than half of the total investment in a 20 MWth industrial …
Skopje’s Green City Action Plan favours district heating
Many times during winter, Skopje in North Macedonia holds the unfortunate record of being the capital with the worst air quality in Europe. One reason for this is that some of the city’s public buildings – even hospitals and schools – burn heavy fuel oil to provide hot water and …
“German SDH market could be bigger, if there was enough space”
Under the leadership of Christoph Bühler, Ritter XL, a division of Germany’s Ritter Energie company, has risen to become the market leader for solar district heating (SDH) in Germany. His team successfully bid for seven of the last 10 SDH plants exceeding 1,000 m2 to be put out to tender …
Fit for 55 package – numbers debate about to begin
On 14 July, the European Commission fulfilled its promise and published the Fit for 55 package, which includes revisions to five of the EU’s core climate and energy directives and two new initiatives, ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime (see chart). The aim of the package is to bring the legal …
PVT provides 3 times more energy than same-size PV system
Historic building stock and solar energy are not mutually exclusive, as illustrated by La Marseillaise in Nantes, western France. A block of 39 student flats, this 1930s building has no gas or oil boilers but PV-thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels for the on-site production of solar heat and electricity. Hot …
Growing interest in concentrating solar heat in central Europe
Concentrating collectors that provide heat or steam for large energy consumers are still far and few between. In 2020, 35 projects with a total aperture area of 16,300 m2 (11 MWth) were put up around the globe, with the most capacity added in China and Turkey, However, according to the …
Start-ups develop new high-temperature storage solutions
At the end of May, representatives for Norwegian EnergyNest, Swedish Azelio and US Malta joined a webinar organised by Spanish agency ATA Insights to talk about their companies’ innovative, cost-competitive thermal storage systems. The three tech start-ups offer clients intraday solutions that store clean, surplus solar heat or electricity generated …
Large prefab SDH collectors: design and yields
Collector size is key when designing solar thermal systems for use in district heating and industry. Roughly speaking, the larger the individual collectors, the easier it will be to install a system by crane and configure it to provide temperatures outside the usual range. In all, nine companies based in …
IEA Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap: 400 milestones but very few for solar thermal
At an online press conference in May, IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol made some surprisingly forceful statements about the global net-zero emission targets for 2050 – statements that have since been widely quoted in the media. “This is not a race between nations but a race against time. And …
“Together with ABB Robotics we can speed up the roll-out”
The Swedish company Absolicon Solar Collector has joined forces with ABB Robotics to sell complete automated production lines for parabolic trough collectors throughout the world. The company has so far signed 13 letters of interest with investors on various continents. The idea is to reduce technology costs by producing collectors …
The opportunities and risks of stock market financing for young solar thermal companies
More and more solar thermal companies are financing their growth by issuing shares. The most recent example is Tigi from Israel with its IPO on 21st March 2021. Some Scandinavian project developers such as Absolicon, Savosolar and Clean Industry Solutions Holding Europe as well as the Chinese Solareast Holding with …
