International Meeting of the Solar and Glass Industry

Solarpraxis AG and Messe Düsseldorf will bring together solar and glass industry representatives at the launch of the new “SOLAR MEETS GLASS” conference on 27 and 28 September 2010 as a side event to accompany the two trade fairs glasstec and solarpeq. Furthermore, the Symposium of the Special Show glass technology live (gtl) will address the issue “Energy Efficiency with Glass”.

With the growing importance of glass as a construction material for cutting costs and increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic applications a promising market is now opening up for the glass industry in the dynamically growing field of solar systems. Generating synergies here through closer cooperation in terms of quality, cost reduction and logistics is the key to success for both industries.

The “SOLAR MEETS GLASS – 1st Industry Summit for Solar Production, Logistics and Technology” brings together the solar and glass industry for the first time in order to jointly address current issues in both sectors and attune both parties’ needs. After providing an overview of the market and available technologies for photovoltaics and glass the conference will focus on the topics quality, cost reductions and logistics.

Managers, development engineers and buyers from the glass and solar industries will acquire strategic know-how for investment decisions and manufacturing optimisation from renowned speakers. Among others Dr. Peter Fath from centrotherm photovoltaics AG will shed light on the challenges and needs from a turnkey-provider’s perspective, Dr. Thomas Hofmann from CENTROSOLAR Group AG will outline the requirements for glass for thin-film and crystalline photovoltaics and the analysts Markus Hoehner from EuPD Research and Henning Wicht from iSuppli will provide an overview of international markets.

The conference specifically targets producers of thin-film and crystalline photovoltaics, solar system integrators and producers of mounting systems for PV; add to this glass producers, system suppliers of glass applications and glass mounting systems as well as upstream suppliers to the glass and solar sectors. With this it addresses both target groups of the trade fair “alliance” comprising solarpeq – International Trade Fair for Solar Production Equipment – and glasstec, the leading international trade fair for the glass sector.

The conference is organised by Solarpraxis AG, one of the leading knowledge service providers in the renewable energy sector boasting longstanding experience in conference organisation and engineering, in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf. In this way both companies can harness their extensive know-how in the areas of solar and glass.

The conference runs all day on 27 September 2010 and until midday on 28 September, the first day of glasstec and solarpeq. The venue is the Congress Center Düsseldorf Ost (CCD Ost) with direct access to the exhibition halls. Registrations for the conference are welcome at www.solarpeq.com. Participation includes free admission to glasstec and solarpeq.

glass technology live Symposium
The Symposium accompanying the glass technology live (gtl) Special Show focuses on the theme “Energy Efficiency with Glass” in 2010. It is not only about innovative technologies for passive energy savings by, for instance, efficient thermal insulation using triple glazing or vacuum insulation glass but also about active energy generation through photovoltaic applications. On the Friday of the trade fair (1 October) the Symposium is entitled “Multifunctional Solar Products: Technologies – Products – Applications”. A core theme of this set of topics organised in cooperation with VDMA (the German Engineering Association) being “Pre-Products for Photovoltaics and Solar Heat”. The papers delivered by the speakers deal with the costs and quality aspects relating to PV glass, rolled glass for solar applications or technologies for thin-film modules. The gtl Symposium will be held in the exhibition area of the Special Show in Hall 11. Admission is free and no prior registration is required. A total of some 60 lectures will be held on all four days of the trade fair.