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:
Lessons learned from three years promoting SDH in the Western Balkans
The interest in solar district heating has increased significantly in Serbia since the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) started to finance prefeasibility studies for SDH plants in January 2019. Furthermore, Serbia adopted a Renewable Energy Law in April 2021 which includes an ambitious mechanism to support the implementation of renewable …
Feasibility studies on 13 solar heat plants underway in Austria
Solar district heating has turned around the steadily declining solar thermal market in Austria. As reported at the Austria Solar organisation’s annual meeting in December, solar heat was in high demand all over the country last year. Of particular note was the second quarter, in which capacity additions made a …
Molten salt: suitable heat-transfer fluid for concentrating collector fields
In a parabolic trough collector demo plant run by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Évora, Portugal, molten salt is used as a heat-transfer fluid instead of thermal oil. The advantage of molten salt is its stability at higher temperatures. Whereas thermal oil cracks at above 400 °C, molten nitrate …
Cautious optimism for the coming years in Spain
The Spanish residential solar thermal market is showing signs of resurgence. After a decline of 8 % in 2020 due to Covid-19, the market experienced 1 % growth in the first half of 2021, according to the solar thermal association ASIT. Solar PV seems an ever-harder contender, sometimes battling for …
Between three and eight million heat pumps in 2030
The German heat pump industry expects high growth rates in the next years. The latest heat transition reports predict between three and eight million heat pumps in operation in German buildings by 2030 to fulfil the climate goals (see chart below). By the end of 2020, a total of 1.4 …
Spain: Solar district heating on the starting blocks
The Spanish solar district heating market is still in its infancy. Among the 500 district heating networks in operation across the country totalling more than 1.6 GWth only seven use solar heat, according to the Association of District Heating and Cooling Companies (ADHAC). Project developers report that there are barriers …
Automated factory for polymer collectors in Norway
Inaventa Solar has now started operating a fully automated production line for solar collectors with polymer absorbers in Jevnaker, Norway. It took about 18 months from placing the order to commissioning the new, unique production equipment, on which the start-up spent around EUR 4 million. The money was raised by …
Big plans for heat pumps but not for solar hybrid systems in the Netherlands
The Dutch association Holland Solar is disappointed about the latest proposal from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate regarding the national subsidy scheme ISDE for renewable energy solutions. In a letter dated 28th October the ministry announced plans to increase investment grants from 20 to 30 % by 1st …
Germany supports solar thermal in energy systems with cogeneration
The use of solar district heating is rapidly gaining momentum in Germany. One reason is that the first projects which have received state support under the Innovative Combined Heat and Power Programme are close to completion. An example of a local energy supplier that has profited from this is municipal …
Future role of solar heat in IEA’s Net Zero Roadmap
In May the International Energy Agency challenged policy makers with a 224-page report titled Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector including 400 milestones that governments have to realise to achieve the 1.5 °C target. Whereas for solar heat in buildings fairly progressive targets are set …
Bulgaria torn between support for coal and decarbonisation aims
In Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, 1,698 kilometres from Brussels as the crow flies, politicians remain wary of the EU’s Green Deal plans, reports our long-time Sofia correspondent Frank Stier. A sun-rich country bordering on the Black Sea, Bulgaria became a member of the EU in 2007. But while 18 % of …
Low-temperature heat networks key to positive energy districts
In Europe, positive energy districts are still in their early stages. But initial pilot projects have shown that low-temperature district heating grids play a central role in the design of these smart districts. So far, however, there has been little policy support for PEDs, noted the experts who attended the …
