Andaltec has started the Olivoltaic project which will create sustainable coatings of solar panels with remains of olive grove pruning, thanks to the funding granted to them by the Provincial Council of Jaén.
Andaltec Technological Center has launched the Olivoltaic R&D project, aimed at developing coatings based on composite materials in pruning residues from olive groves, which acquire optical properties so that they can be applied to photovoltaic solar cells.
Solar panel coatings with pruning residues
This initiative is fully financed by the Provincial Council of Jaén, within the framework of the call to finance the Employment and Business Plan innovation projects of technology centers located in the province of Jaén.
Currently other substrates based on transparent wood for solar panels based on birch or beech wood are studied, but not with olive wood or pruning wood. To obtain transparent wood substrates, Andaltec researchers treat the wood, extracting certain components from it, to obtain a cellulose microfiber structure.
Then it is necessary to infiltrate a transparent polymer into the treated wood so that the the resulting substrate achieves high optical transmission and the power to spread light through it.
The main advantages of these coatings are the use of a renewable and very abundant resource, such as biomass from olive grovesthe replacement of coatings based on plastic materials from fossil sources with a material of renewable origin and the improvement of the sustainability and recyclability of photovoltaic solar panels.
At the beginning of the Olivoltaica project, Andaltec researchers designed a method for the processing of olive wood substrates for the extraction of unnecessary components for this application.
Then they have the transparent polymer matrices for infiltration in treated olive wood substrates. Subsequently, transparent substrates based on olive wood composites will be obtained and their properties will be characterized.
It is also intended to optimize the optical properties of light transmission and diffusion application to photovoltaic solar cells. Finally, a preliminary life cycle assessment will be carried out to determine the reduction potential in terms of environmental impact of this innovative solution.
“The use of a renewable resource, olive wood, for a technical application offers enormous potential to increase the economic value of agricultural activity. increasing the value of biomass waste.
On the other hand, the development of applications for olive grove waste It contributes to generating new business models for the farmer and reducing the possibilities of this waste being eliminated through the practice of controlled combustion. In addition, it simultaneously contributes to reducing the environmental impact of the products,” explains Francisco Javier Navas, project manager at Andaltec.
Furthermore, the transparent wood-based substrates They can be used to develop new products with technical properties for application in other sectors, such as the furniture industry, construction (light-diffusing windows) or for interior lighting of vehicles.