Winners 2024 BIPV Award: leading the way in the future of building-integrated PV systems
Jury chooses four top projects: inspiration and innovation in the spotlight
BIPV Nederland proudly announces the winners of the second edition of the BIPV Award, a prestigious award that spotlights the most innovative and sustainable projects in the construction-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) sector. This year’s award marks an important moment to celebrate the excellence within this growing industry and highlights the top 4 projects selected by our expert jury for their exceptional contribution to sustainability, innovation, and integration of solar energy into building designs.
Kameleon Solar & Soltech win the 2024 BIPV Award with solar facade in Genk
BIPV Nederland is proud to announce the winners of the second annual BIPV Award 2024, a prestigious recognition for excellence in BIPV technologies. This year, the companies Kameleon Solar and Soltech earned the top prize for their joint project: the solar facade of the new Soltech factory in Genk. Kameleon Solar, known for its innovative color technology ColorBlast, and high-tech BIPV producer Soltech collaborated on the creation of a facade for a new factory.
The solar facade of the new Soltech factory reflects the industrial heritage of Thor Park in Genk, Belgium. Over the past century, this area has undergone a transformation from a coal mine to a hotspot for innovative technology. The family of miner Jean-Pierre Lavarini, who is in the photo, was invited to the opening of the building. ‘They didn’t expect Jean-Pierre to take such a prominent place in the photo; their reaction was very moving,” said Kevin Verpaalen, CEO of Kameleon Solar. Soltech has delved deep into Genk’s city archives. From this, various images of the area were collected and merged into the impressive, epic photo that now adorns the facade. It is a sincere tribute to Genk’s past and the transformation of Thor Park.
“We are very happy with the BIPV Award for the Soltech facade. This recognition emphasizes our commitment to sustainability and innovation in construction. Together with Soltech, we have created something truly special, and the success of this project also reflects the vision of the entire BIPV sector: to build a beautiful building in a smart way with solar energy.” – Kevin Verpaalen, CEO of Kameleon Solar.
This project stands out for a facade that both functionally generates solar energy and pays tribute to the region’s coal mining history. Thanks to Kameleon Solar’s ColorBlast technology, the PV panels combine a visual story with their energy-generating function. It shows how BIPV systems can be both aesthetically pleasing and sustainable and provides inspiration for future projects.
Soltech’s new factory in Genk also practically demonstrates the applications of BIPV, not only with its characteristic colored facade but also through its integration into balustrades, canopies, and a walkway. These aspects highlight Soltech’s expertise in BIPV and its commitment to promoting sustainability and aesthetics in construction.
Three exceptional projects also in the top four
In addition to the award-winning project by Kameleon Solar and Soltech in Genk, the jury of the BIPV Award 2024 also recognized three other exceptional projects that excel in innovation and sustainability within the BIPV sector.
Villa Lichtenberg, a project by Solarix, and Titaan, realized by Kameleon Solar, jointly share second place. Villa Lichtenberg stands out for its integrated solar energy facades that combine aesthetics with functionality, while at the same time, the project significantly improves the energy efficiency of the home. The Titaan project is distinguished by the use of custom-made, patterned PV panels that integrate seamlessly with the building’s architecture, making it an example of how modern technology and design can go together.
Thirdly, Wienerberger’s renovation project: a 1930s house equipped with the Wevolt solar roof tile. This project stands out for its successful integration of solar energy into a traditional roof design, retaining the historic aesthetic while providing a modern, sustainable twist. This approach demonstrates the versatility of BIPV technologies and their potential for a wide range of architectural styles and periods.
These three projects illustrate the diversity and innovative potential within the BIPV sector, each with their unique contribution to sustainable construction practices and the development of aesthetically pleasing, energy-efficient buildings.
Jury Members 2024 BIPV Award
The judges for the 2024 BIPV Award include Dr. Pierluigi Bonomo, an experienced researcher in multi-level BIPV projects and head of the BIPV innovative building envelope team at SUPSI; Angèle Reinders, director of Solliance Solar Research and professor in ‘Design of Sustainable Energy Systems’ at Eindhoven University of Technology, known for her expertise in solar energy technology and innovative design; Cees Metz, an architect with extensive experience in various construction projects since 1988; and Annemiek Bles, Energy project leader at Brainport Development, aimed at promoting solar and BIPV innovations on the market from the Brainport region, with a focus on tackling global energy challenges.
Selection process – a tough discussion
The BIPV Award 2024 jury faced a challenging task, partly because this year they decided to select a top four instead of a top three, a reflection of the exceptional quality of the entries. The final selection was made by combining the individual preferences of the jury members into a scoring system, which resulted in four projects with the highest scores.
The assessment of these top four, based on their inspiration for the smart and beautiful integration of solar energy and its integration within architecture, led to lively discussions. These focused on innovation, the inspiration that projects provide, and their economic and scalable feasibility.
This in-depth review revealed suggestions for additional judging criteria and the possibility of splitting the award into categories in future editions. This underlines the complexity and dynamic nature of the BIPV sector, as well as the desire to recognize a wide range of innovations.
Future Vision and Meaning
The BIPV Award 2024 has clearly shown how quickly the world of BIPV systems is growing. This year, we saw a record number of entries, and larger companies participated than ever before. This is a sign that BIPV is being taken more and more seriously, with projects that are not only bigger but also smarter and of higher quality. A striking trend was the increased number of colored products and PV panels in non-standard sizes, which shows that there is already a lot of room for customization and creativity in the current BIPV market.
‘After years of promises from BIPV, growth now seems to be really taking off. PV on facades, in particular, seems attractive and popular because design, visibility, and energy generation can be optimally combined. The winning project by Kameleon Solar – Soltech is an ultimate example of how aesthetics and energy generation can go together. In addition, the beautiful story about the image makes this a deserved 2024 BIPV Award winner,” says Ruud Derks, chairman of BIPV Nederland.
BIPV Nederland notes that the sector is increasingly moving towards sustainability and circularity, also with regard to the materials of solar panels. With this year’s success in mind, BIPV Nederland wants to expand the BIPV Award with categories that do justice to the diversity within BIPV. This will help shine a spotlight on all the different types of innovations that exist within BIPV.
These developments show how important the work of BIPV Nederland is to encourage innovation in the sector. By paying more attention to the versatility and possibilities of BIPV, we are working together towards a future in which every building is not only beautiful and functional but also contributes to the production of clean energy.
Conclusion
By unveiling the winners of the 2024 BIPV Award, we are celebrating a milestone in the advancement of BIPV systems. The excellence of projects from teams such as Kameleon Solar and Soltech shows how far we can go in integrating solar energy into our buildings, where innovation, aesthetics, and sustainability go hand in hand.
This edition has made it clear that the future of construction can not only be sustainable but also aesthetically attractive.