Solarpraxis

The global breakthrough of solar thermal will depend on how well the industry masters the challenge of cost-effective tank and collector manufacturing. This is the key issue of the 3rd SMEThermal conference on 7 February 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The international event is dedicated exclusively to process optimization, automation, and new materials in the solar thermal industry. The organizer, Berlin-based Solarpraxis, launched the complete programme at the end of October (see attached pdf).

The international conference SMEThermal is held in Berlin on 7 February 2012 already for the third time. The one-day event deals explicitly with process optimization, automation and new materials in the tank and collector industry. SMEThermal 2011 was a great success. 160 decision makers from 22 different countries met in Berlin to discuss the latest trends and technical challenges in the industry.

The UK currently holds the attention of the world with two government solar subsidy schemes – one for PV and one for solar thermal. The conference Solar Industry Summit – UK 2011, organized by the German company Solarpraxis in the middle of May in London, combined the interest of both technologies. Many are wondering which subsidy and which technology will win in the end – so far the PV feed-in tariff is the first in the race.
Photo. Free Spirit Fotolia

The 1^st SMEThermal in March 2010 exceeded the expectations: As the first of its kind to be dedicated exclusively to materials and equipment used in manufacturing solar thermal tanks and collectors, it attracted 150 key industry players from 20 different countries.
Photo: Solarpraxis

Four international conferences on solar heating and cooling will take place in the first three months of the year: The Solar Thermal Conference at 4/5 March 2010 in Wels, Austria, the First Annual Conference of the European Technology Platform on Renewable Heating and Cooling 23/24 February 2010 in Bilbao, Spain, the 1^st SMEThermal Conference, at 4 March 2010 in Berlin, Germany, and the Solar Air-conditoning and Refrigeration Workshop at 27 January in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The crises of the financial markets did not seem to harm the speedy growth of the solar thermal market in Germany. Industry insiders at the conference Forum Solarpraxis in Berlin on the 20^th/21^st November agreed that the collector area installed in Germany will reach 1.7 to 1.9 million m² (1.2 to 1.3 GW). This is almost a doubling of the 2007 market volume of 950,000 m² (665 MW).