What is ETFE? BIPV Our Project Our Team Demonstration Publications
ETFE-MFM
DEVELOPMENT AND
DEMONSTRATION OF FLEXIBLE
MULTIFUNCTIONAL ETFE MODULE
FOR ARCHITECTURAL
FAÇADE LIGHTING
 NEWS
Training materials on textile-based architecture
The ETFE-MFM consortium held a training event in Brussels on 8 November to present and promote training materials that...
Training Event: Textile-based Architecture - Exploring the state of the art
ETFE (Ethylene TetraFluoroEthylene) is regarded as a wonder material, with numerous economic and environmental benefits...
 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 is demonstrating the developed module on a building in real conditions. The overall performance of the module is being monitored and evaluated to see where further improvements may be required, and to ensure that the final module can meet consumer demands. 


The demonstrator has now been installed at ITMA Material Technologies in Avilés, Spain. More information is available in the project video.

PUBLICATIONS

Training Publication

Textile-based architecture: Exploring the state-of-the-art

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Training Module - Speaking Notes

Speaking notes for the lecture: An introduction to textile-based architecture

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Training Module - Slides

Slides for the lecture: An introduction to textile-based architecture

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ETFE-MFM in REVOLVE Magazine

ETFE-MFM has been featured in the EU Sustainable Energy Week Edition of REVOLVE Magazine

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ETFE-MFM Poster at the EuroNanoForum 2017

ETFE-MFM was presented at EuroNanoForum 2017, where the project won second prize in the NANOFY! Best Project Award

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D2.5 - Implementation policies for architectural PV

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

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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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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No. 322459.
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