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:
High fossil fuel prices and generous support drive up demand in France
Two weeks before the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, France’s President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech in which he detailed his strategy for developing the nation’s energy sector. He left no doubt that nuclear energy would continue to play a central role, but at the same time attributed growing …
Merging decades of solar expertise
The merger of the two Swiss companies Energie Solaire and Soltop Schuppisser in October 2021 has created a multifaceted enterprise in the field of green building technology. The new company Soltop Energie chaired by Wolfgang Thiele has taken over all the employees, who have several decades of experiences in the …
Push for the German solar thermal market is badly needed
The German boiler manufacturers are satisfied with their sales for 2021. Plumbers installed almost one million units. This is 10 % more than in the previous year, according to statistics from the heating industry association BDH. When looking at the market figures broken down by technology, biomass boilers were the …
Superbonus has pushed solar heat in Italy
The combination of the Conto Termico incentive scheme, supporting renewable heat installations, and the 110 % Superbonus for energy efficiency in buildings allowed Italy to hit a record year for solar thermal in 2021. According to the industry association ANIMA, 225,000 m2 of collector area (158 MW) were installed in …
Celsius’s cities are going carbon neutral with waste heat and PV rather than with solar thermal
Waste heat and photovoltaics seem to be the preferred technologies for cities aiming to decarbonize their energy supply, rather than solar heat. This became clear during the webinar Cities Going Carbon Neutral at the end of February. During the presentations by energy experts from the Swedish city of Lund, Sonderborg …
Ariston Group acquires Chromagen
At the beginning of the year the Italian Ariston Group completed its acquisition of the Israeli solar thermal system pioneer manufacturer Chromagen Hot Water Solutions. According to a press release published on 5 January 2022, the boiler manufacturer acquired 100 % of the shares and voting rights of the Israeli …
Challenging short completion deadline
Fifty-one solar heat projects totalling 61 MW were awarded funding in Spain in the first round of the subsidy scheme Thermal Energy Production. The majority of these projects use concentrating solar technologies. This is a great step forward in a country where currently concentrating solar heat plants with a total …
EU fund allocates EUR 108 million for C&I renewable heat projects
The first call for renewable heat projects for the industry and service sectors in Spain resulted in awarded grants of EUR 108 million. This budget will be used to support 51 solar heat projects totalling 62 MW. Within this funding line Thermal Energy Production beneficiaries receive non-repayable grants co-financed by …
Unfavourable stop and go policy in England
The Green Homes Grant scheme in England “underperformed badly”. The Public Accounts Committee came to this conclusion when reporting that only about 47,500 families upgraded their homes out of the 600,000 originally envisaged and the scheme caused GBP 50 million of administration costs – more than GBP 1,000 per home …
Cities united for climate action
Cities drive climate action – that much is clear when looking at the numbers presented in last November’s 2021 Global Covenant of Mayors Impact Report. The signatories to the covenant announced a total of 222,034 actions, committing themselves to a reduction of 76 gigatons of CO2 by 2050, an amount …
Greenpeace Bulgaria campaigns for sunny future of heating
Greenpeace Bulgaria is actively campaigning to promote solar energy for heating purposes. The Bulgarian branch of the global environmental organisation has not only published promotional material but Greenpeace also donated two solar laboratories to schools to educate students about a decarbonised economy. At the beginning of this school year in …
Solar heat to save Switzerland several CHF 100 million a year
A new roadmap called SolTherm2050 shows how much of a role solar heat combined with thermal storage could play in Switzerland in 2050. Using the Swiss EnergyScope tool, the developers of the roadmap simulated a variety of scenarios with and without solar thermal. In addition, over half of their 117-page …
