Our experience in metals, industrial development and large-scale project management provides a strong platform for solar business. Hydro produces large volumes of extruded profiles that are used for frames and support structures in solar installations.
Hydro is involved in all main solar technology areas:
- Photovoltaics (PV), converting sunlight directly into electricity
- Solar thermal, using sunlight to heat water
- Concentrated solar power (CSP), focusing sunlight with mirrors to produce high-temperature heat and steam for power production
Hydro carries out R&D and marketing activities to provide the solar industry with aluminium sheet and tubes that replace more traditional materials such as copper as absorber material and glass as mirror material to help improve performance and lower the cost of solar installations further and promote more wide-spread use of solar energy technologies worldwide.
Hydro has minority ownership interests in two solar companies, NorSun and Ascent Solar Technologies, and one solar venture fund, Convexa.
Norsun
Based in Norway, Norsun aims to be a world leader in supplying silicon wafers to manufacturers of high-efficient solar cells.
Ascent Solar
U.S.-based and Nasdaq-listed Ascent Solar is developing thin-film photovoltaic modules using CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) technology for innovative solar solutions for portable power and building-integrated applications.
Convexa
As a Norwegian venture fund specializing in solar technology, Convexa has made a series of investments in young, innovative companies developing next generation solar technologies with international growth potential.
