Glazed windows become energy sources

It also happens that start-ups created elsewhere decide to move to Trentino. This is the case of Glass to Power, born as a spin-off of the University of Milan-Bicocca and settled in the Mechatronics Pole of Rovereto in 2019. For its CEO, Claudio Castellan, it was a good choice. 'Trentino has proved to be an area extremely attentive to innovation, with a dynamic and favourable ecosystem. The presence of advanced research centres, universities and private companies attentive to sustainability constitutes an ideal environment for our growth'. Prior to his current role, Castellan, who holds a doctorate in physics from the University of Trento, was among the developers of Heli-On, which he describes as the company's 'flagship product'. It is an insulating glass unit with a photovoltaic frame that transforms glass surfaces into active sources of energy. An in-house developed and patent-pending invention that, in practice, makes the large glass surfaces not only let in light, but also act as solar panels capable of producing and storing renewable energy. The debut was in January at the Bau Messe in Munich, one of the most important international trade fairs for architecture, materials and systems. "We had the opportunity to meet with various players in the construction industry, from architects to real estate developers, and received very positive feedback," says Castellan. "The market is looking for solutions like ours, capable of transforming buildings from consumers into energy producers, without having to compromise on aesthetics. As a matter of fact, many visitors to the trade fair initially walked past their stand without stopping. "It was a great satisfaction, the confirmation of what we were aiming for, i.e. a product in which the photovoltaics are integrated so well into the glazing that they are almost invisible. Having said that, we soon installed signs to illustrate the innovative element, and so visits to the stand increased". At the Mechatronics Centre, Glass to Power has a production space of 150 square metres, which it uses for development and assembly activities, being able to manage prototyping, testing and production processes on site. The team currently consists of six people, but the idea is to grow it in the coming months.