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The world’s first patented retractable solar roof was developed under the name Horizon by dhp technology AG. The car park roofing is one of the latest projects from the young Swiss company based in Zizers in the canton of Graubünden. This all began with the roofing of wastewater treatment plants. In 2018, the first model went into operation in the wastewater treatment plant for the town of Chur. It was the first installation of its kind in the world. With an area of 6,400 m2, the retractable solar roof covers 20 per cent of the electricity demands of the energy-intensive wastewater treatment plant. The benefit of this is that the entire system remains fully accessible, and the retractable solar roof provides shade during necessary maintenance work in summer and reduces algae growth.

Focus on automation

The retractable solar roof has a system control function with an integrated meteo algorithm. In connection with data collected by a weather station mounted on the system, the modules are either unfolded or, during inclement weather, folded up and stored in a garage. The lightweight system consists of a galvanised support structure and the roof made of solar modules suspended from supporting cables.

For the production of the individual solar modules, the eldomix metering and mixing system from DOPAG was integrated into the production line. It meters and mixes a dual-component adhesive which is used to bond the thin plastic photovoltaic modules to a metal frame. Application of the material is fully automated. The individual modules are then assembled into a complete retractable roof group. The company has already used a rental system from DOPAG in the production of a prototype.

Eldomix conveys the two components by means of two gear metering pumps. These are driven by three- phase asynchronous motors and offer high metering precision. The material is supplied directly from the original container by means of two drum pumps. In general, eldomix is suitable for processing low to medium-viscosity multi-component materials based on polyurethane, epoxy or silicone. The material is homogeneously mixed via a static mixing system. The mixing ratio and the discharge quantity are variable. The material can be discharged in shot form or continuously via a dispensing valve.

In this way, the photovoltaic modules can be safely and reliably bonded to the metal frame and then assembled into a high-quality retractable solar roof. Andreas Hügli and Gian Andri Diem have been successful with their idea. The production line is running at full capacity and more retractable solar roof systems will soon follow in Switzerland and Germany.

Please click here for more information about dhp technology: www.dhp-technology.ch