According to Innogie, if fitted with an appropriate battery, the solar roof can supply up to 80% of the energy consumed in a household – including electricity, heating for warm water, as well as ’fuel’ for an electric car.

Once the development of batteries or other forms of electricity storage has advanced, buildings will be completely autonomous so that every building becomes its own energy island.

-There are no one else on the market with a similar solution. Our solar roofs ensure that energy is produced where it is needed – in people’s own homes. Our ambition is to spread the solution on a global scale, says managing director Michael Ariel Nielsen.

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Investment speeds up the development
Innogie started on the Danish market but it has its eyes on the German and French markets already, and has concrete plans to enter them in 2017 and 2018. And this is where the investment from the Danish Green Investment Fund will benefit Innogie.

-The patented system offers an exciting export opportunity. Both new and existing construction work will be able to achieve large savings by transforming their roofs from passive surfaces, as they are today, to active surfaces instead. There is already international focus on similar solutions, so the potential to reach out to new markets is big, says director in the Danish Green Investment Fund Michael Zöllner.

It is expected that Innogie will reach an annual revenue of more than EUR 13.4 millions within the next 3-4 years.

Exactly how much the Danish Green Investment Fund has invested in Innogie is unknown, but according to the fund it is a substantial amount.

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No new technology
The idea for the roof started at Aarhus University in Denmark, when co-owner of the company Kristian Harley Hansen was finishing his engineering studies. Kristian wondered if it was possible to make use of the large inactive roof areas to produce energy.

-We have not developed a new technology. We have assembled existing technologies in a smart way, so we can offer a whole new product on the market, says managing director in the company Michael Ariel Nielsen.

The solar roof has already won design prizes, and Danish Design Award has praised the roof for being both aesthetic and innovative.

Source: Energy Supply DK