Intersolar Europe is the world's largest exhibition for the solar industry. This year's edition occupied 15 halls at the Munich Trade Fair Center and gathered 1,900 exhibitors and 66,000 visitors.
A manufacturer of aluminium precision tubes and profiles, Hydro also exhibited all-aluminium solar absorbers, fittings and line sets at Intersolar.
Business Developer Patrick Jansson, responsible for the solar market, says "we need to show to the customers who don't know us what we are capable of and where our tube products fit in. It is also important to show the tubing components in the final applications, which are most relevant for most of the customers."
Most efficient solar absorber
Hydro presented several products that generated interest at its booth at Intersolar:
- An ultrasonically welded meander absorber produced by STI Solar, Germany.
- A laser-welded harp absorber from Prime Laser Tech, Greece.
- A multi-port extrusion (MPE) absorber, developed with Savosolar, Finland.
The MPE absorber is the most efficient solar absorber on the market and was awarded the Intersolar Award 2011.
Hydro also showed aluminium line sets produced by two customers: Aeroline Tube Systems and Solar Metal Flex, both from Germany. Further, Mr Stefano Azzi from Fonderie Dellatorre was present at the stand to show the aluminium fittings produced by his Italian company.
"We had 200 visitors. This was a success," says marketing manager Marc-Etienne Jan. "A key change compared to last year was that people asked concrete questions about the installation of aluminium solar absorbers. In addition, I counted more than 10 other stands promoting aluminium solutions. This shows more maturity in the market."
Solar-specific aluminium alloy
Hydro has been supplying aluminium tubes to the solar industry for three years, and is a partner of choice with strong expertise. As an example, the company's global team of R&D scientists engineered an aluminium alloy dedicated to the solar market, HyLife™ Solar. Extensively tested against corrosion at an independent institute in Switzerland, the alloy comes with a 10-year warranty when properly installed.
More information on HyLife™ Solar and the independent corrosion test report is available from the right-hand column.
