Skyscrapers to generate solar power

Buildings are one of the largest energy consumers. In Europe, they are responsible for approximately 40 percent of energy consumption and 36 percent of CO2 emissions, as Venture Kick revealed in a press release. Highly glazed buildings use a lot of energy. In summer, considerable cooling is necessary on account of the large windows, while in winter heating costs are high. The Ticino startup iWin is working to tackle this problem.

The company is developing a solution that turns multi-story and highly glazed buildings into power plants generating renewable energy. It has created venetian blinds with integrated photovoltaics solar cells. The underlying technology has already been validated at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and the patent is pending.

The iWin smart photovoltaic venetian blind is sealed inside an insulating glass unit. An advantage of this solution is that it combines renewable energy production with light and sun protection. It also does not interfere with the appearance of the building and can be easily installed over a large surface area.

The startup has now impressed the Venture Kick jury with its creation and won a grant of 150,000 francs, which it will use to finalize a minimum viable product that allows the startup to enter the market.