ETFE-MFM
DEVELOPMENT AND
DEMONSTRATION OF FLEXIBLE
MULTIFUNCTIONAL ETFE MODULE
FOR ARCHITECTURAL
FAÇADE LIGHTING

NEWS

ETFE-MFM presented to the European Photovoltaic Cluster

Dr. Armando Menéndez Estrada from ITMA Material Technology has presented the ETFE-MFM project to the European...

Consortium meets in Brussels to plan demonstrations

The ETFE-MFM consortium has met in Brussels, at the offices of Greenovate! Europe, to discuss progress and plan next...

INFORMATION POINT

Co-ordinator

DAVID GÓMEZ PLAZA

ITMA MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

d.gomez@itma.es

+34 (0) 985 129 120 / +34 (0) 664 071 446

WHAT IS ETFE?

ETFE is a flexible, durable and sustainable material for architectural design

A Wonder Material…

The polymer Ethylene TetraFluoroEthylene (ETFE) is a fluorine-based plastic which is lightweight, transparent, recyclable and strong. It can be used as an eco-friendly construction material, with less environmental impact throughout a building’s life-cycle than traditional fenestration solutions. ETFE weighs only 1% of an equally sized glass panel and makes comparative energy savings of around 30%, as it lets in more natural light and is a better insulator for retaining heat. ETFE is also dirt and wear resistant, requiring little more than rainfall to keep it clean, and with a lifespan of over 30 years.

…For Sustainable Buildings

ETFE is used in buildings as a two or three layered, air-filled cushion, or as a single layer, cable-supported structure. When used as an air-filled cushion, the ETFE foil is supported by a lightweight aluminium frame. Due to its lightness, ETFE can be used where large expanses of glass would be too heavy, providing light and also improving internal building conditions, and thermal and acoustic insulation. Further, the cushions can be installed with electronic equipment and LEDs, or printed on with different colours and designs for elaborate building façade decoration and illumination.

BIPV

Building Integrated Photovoltaics provide decentralised energy generation for self-sufficient buildings

Buildings currently make up around 40% of total energy use in the European Union. Solutions such as ETFE can play a key role in improving energy efficiency in buildings, but energy efficiency needs to be coupled with renewable energy solutions for greatest impact. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) are PV materials that are integrated into a building during construction, requiring specialised materials and integrated planning and design.

Increasingly, people are turning to decentralised and renewable energy generation for a wide variety of applications. With the recognition that PV systems are reliable producers of electricity that require minimum maintenance and have a proven life-span of 20-30 years, BIPV is a fast growing industry. BIPV modules are usually installed on roofs, but can also be integrated into walls, façades and glazing, and increasingly novel uses are emerging.

EXPECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

WORK PACKAGES

OUR PROJECT

Development and demonstration of a flexible multifunctional ETFE module for architectural façade lighting

ETFE has huge potential, particularly in large public and commercial buildings, from both energy efficiency and design perspectives. The integration of lighting function into ETFE is increasingly popular in architectural usage, but consumes large amounts of energy, with high costs of operation. If the cost of lighting could be reduced, there could be increased take up of ETFE as an eco-friendly building material, for use in a variety of different building types.

ETFE-MFM will develop, evaluate and demonstrate a PV module with embedded additional functionalities to be used in ETFE textile architecture for BIPV applications. The project will build a self-contained building module consisting of ETFE architecture, PV technology, illumination devices and flexible integrated circuits, to open up new sustainable architectural lighting possibilities. Overall, the project will provide a sustainable building module suitable for energy harvesting, glazing, lighting and acoustic and thermal insulation.

OUR TEAM

ETFE-MFM brings together a multi-disciplinary team, with outstanding research, technological, manufacturing and business expertise

ITMA (Spain) are a leading materials technology centre and co-ordinator of the ETFE-MFM project.

Acciona (Spain) is one of Europe’s foremost construction companies, constructing and managing sustainable buildings and civil infrastructure.

CENER is the National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain, dedicated to applied research and promotion of renewable energies.

G!E (Belgium) is a unique Europe-wide group of experts that supports green innovation processes.

Belectric OPV GmbH is the market leader in the area of organic photovoltaics with the focus on manufacturing of customised organic solar modules.

Taiyo Europe (Germany) is part of the Taiyo Group, the world’s largest speciality contractor in the field of architectural membranes.

DEMONSTRATION

The ETFE-MFM project will demonstrate the developed module on a building in real conditions. The overall performance of the module will be monitored and evaluated. Before the demonstration takes place, precise definition of system requirements, controls of measures and the establishment of the monitoring methodology will be completed.

More information on the demonstration will be available later in the project.

PUBLICATIONS

D2.5 - Implementation policies for architectural PV

Report on incentive programmes and policies and their applicability to BIPV installations

DOWNLOAD PDF

D2.3 - Architectural possibilities, needs and trends for ETFE-MFM

Report on the possibilities of ETFE-MFM as replacement elements for traditional construction components

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D2.2 - EU regulations and legislation for PV construction components

Study of regulations and legislation applicable to PV elements in buildings

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Presentation at Printed Electronics Europe 2015

Presentation by Armando Menéndez Estrada from ITMA to the 11th Annual Conference and Tradeshow of Printed Electronics Europe