Folding solar roofs will power EV charging stations in Switzerland
Swiss startup Dhp Technology makes folding solar roofs, and now they’re going to be built over 45 rest stops, where they’ll power EV charging stations.
Dhp Technology, part of the ABCD-Horizon consortium, which includes Swiss energy company Aventron, BG Consulting Engineers and Cargo Sous Terrain, is launching this project in the cantons of Valais and Bern, Switzerland.
Dhp’s folding solar roof is called HORIZON, and its patented folding mechanism unfolds or retracts automatically under a supporting structure, like a giant accordion, depending on the weather. This is particularly useful in places that get heavy snowfall. When it stops snowing, they can be extended out again.
HORIZON’s lightweight (glass-free) construction means its structures can have wide distances between supports, so no parking spots are sacrificed. They can be erected at heights of up to 6 meters (19.6 feet), meaning large vehicles like semis can fit under them – and that makes them ideal for motorway rest stops.
The electricity from these 45 HORIZON folding solar roofs will primarily be used for EV charging infrastructure. Aventron says that the power can either flow into existing charging points at the rest areas or be stored in batteries. Surplus electricity will be fed into the grid and sold to Aventron’s three main shareholders, as well as Cargo Sous Terrain.
The 45 folding solar roofs are going to create 35 megawatts (MW) of clean energy. Construction work on these foldable PV systems is expected to begin next year, and it’s expected to be completed in 2027.
In 2017/18, the pilot project was put into operation above the sewage treatment plant in Chur, Switzerland. Meanwhile, a further 15 systems are in operation. By the end of 2023, the first systems in Germany will go into operation, as well as a further eight systems in Switzerland. The solar folding roof was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, the Swiss Climate Foundation and the European Commission. In 2019, it won the Watt d’Or and the Swiss Solar Prize as well as the Swiss Future Prize 2021.
