Award for the development of sustainable solar panels
In 2009, the in part publicly-funded project SolPol from was launched by the Johannes Kepler University. Together with numerous partners from the industry, the project management focused the research project around the use of polymer materials in solar energy technology. Specifically, it is about solar thermal energy, the technology with which hot water is produced using solar radiation. Current solar thermal systems are made of a variety of materials such as metals, glass, plastic and wood.The aim of the SolPol project is to develop a solar thermal system or solar collectors made entirely of plastic, which are significantly lighter than conventional solar thermal systems, reach a service life of approx. 20 years and more, and can be recycled again after the end of the service life. Within the scope of this project, Gabriel-Chemie and its industrial partners developed new stabilizer packages that withstand high temperatures and contact with hot water, thus ensuring a long service life.
Due to these properties, the newly developed Masterbatch products can be used in many different applications.
"We are pleased to be part of such a far-reaching project and to contribute our knowledge and technical expertise. Especially the smooth cooperation with big companies like Lenzing and AGRU is confirmation of the competence that we bring to the project.", says Andreas Höllebauer, Head of Corporate Technical Development at Gabriel-Chemie.
On September 28, 2018, the charitable association Eurosolar presented the Austrian and European Solar Prize. As part of this, the SolPol consortium received the Austrian Solar Prize for the Education and Training category. Already in spring, the project received the „Sustainability Award 2018“ (1st place regional cooperation) of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism.
Source: Gabriel-Chemie
