Netherlands-based, Solarix designs, develops, supplies & assembles solar panels for “energy-generating façades”. The colored solar panels (designed to coordinate aesthetically with building materials such as concrete, wood & aluminum) are produced in Europe. “Solar panels make the biggest energy contribution to a house, but for high-rise buildings, the roof area is often too small to install enough (solar panels). Façade panels are the answer”. Solarix panels reduce CO2 emission by 25% & could even allow for energy-neutral buildings. Founded in 2016 by Marloes van Heteren (CEO) & artist Reinier Bosch, Solarix won the Solar Design Award at the Dutch Design Week that same year, by 2017 had a working demo with an inverter & 9 solar panels, then in 2018 landed its “first real assignment” with launch customer Kuijpers Techniek. Today, Solarix has 10 projects to its name, including Middelburg Theater, the Pharos business complex, Adyen HQ & a collaboration with Optopper van Vorm. The new funds will help Solarix respond to rapidly growing demand: “realizing projects takes 4 years from sketch design to tender to realization, but the market is on a tear (“224 projects in the pipeline”); in a few years, façades that generate solar energy will be commonplace”. Solarix will also continue their research with TNO into “thin-film PV applications for the built environment”. It’s worth noting that Solarix façade panels are currently not available for private individuals “we work on projects with a min order size of 100m2 & B2B i.e. via architect offices”, but the startup will “launch standard panel sizes in mid-2025, which will create more options for the private market”. <Source: siliconcanals.com, solarmagazine.nl, nytimes.com>
