Renewable Energy Installer REI Feb/Mar 17 | Page 14

Innovation: Solar and Storage
Partner training delivers vital skills
Experts lead
the battery
revolution
Battery safety and efficiency are the
direct result of expertise gained over long
periods of research and development by
leading experts.
That requires detailed knowledge of raw
materials used and components employed
and how they work with each other to
produce industry-leading performance.
MyReserve is the culmination of years
of work by some of Europe’s leading
authorities on lithium-ion batteries.
SOLARWATT Innovation, the
company’s technology centre at Frechen
near Cologne, where MyReserve is
manufactured, is led by Dr Andreas
Gutsch and Dr Olaf Wollersheim. They
are responsible for the continuing
development of MyReserve and new,
storage-based business models.
Both held senior academic positions at
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, focusing
on sustainable, cost-efficient energy
generation and storage.
Leading industrial standards
In 2015 KIT developed its “Safety Guidance
for Lithium-ion Storage” in cooperation
with the leading industrial associations, to
provide standards.
Thomas Timke also played a leading role
in developing the Li-ion safety standard at
KIT. He joined SOLARWATT in September
to ensure MyReserve’s high safety has top
priority in future requirements. Previously
he helped develop an ‘active balancing’
battery management system and worked
on an 800kWh Li-ion grid project.
With more than 30 years’ experience in
heating, domestic and energy engineering,
Walter Bornscheuer, VP of product
management and R&D, is tasked with
promoting the company’s innovative
energy solutions and taking them to
new markets. Pol Spronck, who as
International Sales Manager heads up
SOLARWATT’s activities in the UK and
Ireland, is an experienced professional who
has worked in solar PV for eight years.
14 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Innovation: Solar and Storage
Above: The SOLARWATT module production system
Three pillars to deliver the
best in solar and storage
SOLARWATT delivers its heating solution
through three key components – advanced
dual-glass PV modules, the revolutionary
MyReserve battery and Energy Manager.
Superior dual-glass modules
SOLARWATT’s pioneering dual-glass
modules offer the best long-term
performance on the market, bringing
an unprecedented 30-year product and
performance guarantee.
Manufactured at the company’s ultra-
modern factory in Dresden, Germany, the
latest generation of modules are light as
well as extremely resilient and durable,
thanks to their double-layer 2x2mm
glass panes.
In accelerated aging tests such as the
damp heat test (DHT), dual-glass modules
lose only around 0.6 per cent of their
efficiency after 5,000 hours, a point when
traditional glass-film modules barely
generate any electricity.
SOLARWATT has consistently led the way
in advanced dual-glass solar PV modules
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SOLARWATT hosted a one-week
international training programme for
specialists, leading to the first deliveries of
the MyReserve storage system for the UK
and Ireland.
Engineers, technicians, managers and
sales staff from Wind & Sun and BHC
Distributors attended the intensive training
session at SOLARWATT’s high-tech
Dresden headquarters.
The courses provide the skills to
introduce SOLARWATT’s MyReserve
unit so householders and SMEs benefit
from battery storage to increase self-
consumption from existing and new
solar PV. The programme also covered
design, installation and commissioning
of dual-glass solar PV modules and the
Energy Manager intelligent management
system, forming the three pillars of the
SOLARWATT offering.
Certified installer training
Delegates were instructed in health and
safety, transport, lithium-ion battery
handling and diagnostics.
The visitors were also fully instructed in
installation, product servicing and software
updating, enabling them to “train the
trainers” when they return home.
BHC Distributors