Solar power star rises
GREEN engineer Senergy Innovations and owner Christine Boyle are heralding a new dawn with production of the firm’s UK- made, super powerful solar roof panels.
The competitive, new generation technology the Belfast environmental business has developed is thermalbased, enabling new and existing buildings to create their own hot water and heating from the sun.
Solar thermal panels produce three times more energy per square metre compared to the commonly found PV solar ones. However the high costs to make and install current products, made of glass, copper and aluminium, have held back mass adoption.
Senergy’s patented polymer solution overcomes this while allowing the core advantages to shine through, explains Boyle.
“Our polymers and manufacturing process make the panels lighter, durable and cheaper to produce with a lower carbon footprint. We can cover a lot more roof space, deliver not just hot water but into space heating and cooling. They make it economic to store excess heat energy in summer, too, to feed into homes and workplaces in winter.
“We have crucial intellectual property around hardware but it’s the software platform that will be the most valuable, providing data to make it affordable to deliver energy from the sun all year. Senergy is changing solar thermal from being an ‘ ugly sister’ into the Cinderella of renewables.”
Although Covid initially set back roll out, awareness about the climate crisis has accelerated, increasing recognition of Senergy’s relevance. Now the company expects a £ 1million turnover next year, potentially rising to £ 40 million in 2025, as further pilots and projects in its social housing target market get under way.
In a low carbon heating market worth £ 7 billion in the UK, “every construction company is currently focused on building smarter and greener,” says Boyle. Design is in- house and manufacturing outsourced, helped by Belfast’s longstanding engineering experience. Senergy’s partnerships with Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster have been vital in leveraging expertise.
The majority of the £ 1.7 million investment has come from grants, angel funding and Boyle herself, who came to environmental engineering after running a family roofing business.
A member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, she is also part of its This is Engineering Campaign celebrating the profession’s inspiring and lifechanging innovations. “Engineering needs lots more women,” says Boyle.
“We have a unique opportunity through technology, industry and policy to support the best engineers of our time to build the best world for our children.”
● senergyinnovations.co.uk,
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