The all-aluminium MPE absorber project – a joint entry by Hydro and Savo-Solar – won as best innovation in the category for solar thermal technology. The award was presented on the opening day of Intersolar Europe 2011, the world's largest trade fair for solar technologies.

Hydro's Precision Tubing sector cooperated on the project together with the Finnish company, providing both materials and expertise. The Tonder plant in Denmark contributed with the multi-port extrusions (MPEs) and headers, using the HyLife Solar aluminum alloy, which Hydro developed especially for solar applications.

Key account manager Patrick Jansson says the prize-winning project includes several aspects new to the solar thermal market. 

MPE: More solar applications are using Hydro's aluminium tubing.

"Aluminum is a new material in the field and this application uses a new absorberdesign with MPE profiles instead of welding round tubes to sheet material. In addition, Savo-Solar has brazed the absorber in a controlled atmosphere brazing furnace, a process not used in solar thermal technology before,” he says.

 

"The biggest innovation is the coating that Savo-Solar adds to help make its product more efficient than competing products in the market."

Special coating

Savo-Solar, which is based in Mikkeli, was established in 2009. The company claims that its "three-layered nano coating … minimizes the amount of light reflected off from the device, enabling a larger portion of solar energy to be absorbed into the system."

"I hope the recognition can help generate new business for us in the European market," says Jari Varjotie, who is chief executive officer for Savo-Solar.

The two companies began their cooperation in December 2010. "In six months, the customer has a product that has been industrialized. This is good work," says Hugo Ravesloot, who is responsible for business development for the Precision Tubing sector.

Second successive year

Intersolar presented awards to the most innovative companies in each of three categories: photovoltaics, solar thermal technology, and photovoltaic production technology.

This year, for the first time, the Intersolar Awards invited exhibitors from Intersolar India to take part in the competition alongside those from Intersolar Europe and Intersolar North America.

This is the second straight year that Hydro has claimed one of the trade fair's top prizes. In 2010, Hydro was honored as partner in a project for an aluminum curtain wall with integrated solar thermal collectors – the "CPC Office/System Wicona" façade collector.

• Hydro is participating in Intersolar North America 2011 at Booth 7653
  at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, July 12-14.