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 Press Release | 7 October 2021 

Is it possible to feed citizens and the grid at the same time? The construction of insolagrin Conthey in Valais (Switzerland), a highly innovative solar power plant, provides some elements of answer. This is the first time – worldwide – that this new agrivoltaic technology has been deployed on a large-scale pilot. The first raspberries from the project were harvested in late summer, launching a four-year program to analyze and optimize agricultural and electrical yields. These results could pave the way for large-scale, unprecedented solar deployments, bringing a new solution without additional land take.

The pilot project, which was created by the three partners Insolight, Romande Energie and Agroscope, is operational at the Agroscope site in Conthey (VS) since July 2021. The installation, which is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), covers an area of 165m2 and will be used for the growth of raspberries – and strawberries from 2022 onwards – under cover in pots. Insolight develops and supplies the solar module technology and the light control system. Agroscope studies plant physiology, yields and crop quality. Romande Energie built the installation and supervises the energy production. Over the next four years, agricultural and electrical yield data will be collected and analyzed to optimize the performance of the installation.

Revolutionary Swiss solar technology

This solution – developed by Swiss start-up Insolight – incorporates innovative translucent solar modules. Based on optical micro-tracking technology, they offer a dynamic light adjustment while maintaining an interesting electrical yield. More than a simple photovoltaic installation, it is a tool for farmers, which allows to adjust the light transmitted to the crops. This makes it possible to optimize the photosynthesis of the plants during the seasons, while converting the excess light into electricity.

Research to optimize a unique agrivoltaic solution

The pilot plant was developed to replace and improve the protection used over crops against weather conditions, while producing energy at the same time. It allows Agroscope to study the impact of light conditions on crop development. The aim is to use this agronomic data to adjust the control algorithm of the photovoltaic modules, irrigation, and nutrient supply according to the plant species, stage of development and solar irradiance. At the same time, Romande Energie

will evaluate the solar electricity production of the installation during the four years of the project. The infrastructure will also be further optimized according to the agricultural exploitation needs.

This research should make it possible to produce solar energy while maintaining, or even increasing, the quantity and quality of the fruit harvested under the solar modules.

Convincing additional solar potential on roofs 

The potential for agrivoltaic structures that benefit both crops and electricity production is significant. In Switzerland, nearly 4,600 hectares could be considered, representing a power of 5 gigawatt-peak, equivalent to the consumption of 800’000 to 1’200’000 households. The ambition is to bring a new solution for large-scale photovoltaic deployments, without additional impact on land and reducing the carbon footprint of crops. In this respect, an important signal was sent by the Federation of Migros Cooperatives which decided to support the project.

This is a first step towards the future of energy-positive crops, offering sustainable development perspectives for the food and energy sectors.

The project is supported by the pilot and demonstration program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

More information on the pilot project can be found in the flyer attached to this press release (Flyer Pilot insolagrin Conthey).

Download here the visuals of the project, with the copyright © Insolight for any use.

Contacts

Insolight:

Laurent Coulot, CEO and co-founder, info@insolight.ch

Romande Energie:
Caroline Monod, Communications Advisor, +41 21 802 95 78, caroline.monod@romande-energie.ch

Agroscope:
Media Service, + 41 58 466 88 62, info@agroscope.admin.ch

About Insolight

A startup based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Insolight is developing a new generation of solar modules, opening new deployment opportunities in a high-growth solar market. The patented technology is based on an optical concentration system combining high efficiency and translucency. Insolight focuses on the design and the sale of related products and services, whilst the module manufacturing is outsourced to an assembly company (currently in Switzerland).

Insolight is seeing strong market traction in agrivoltaics, where the adjustable translucency of the THEIA modules offers a key differentiation compared to conventional modules. The aim is to install the solar modules over crops to optimise agricultural production whilst generating electricity.

In July 2020 Insolight closed a Series A (CHF 5 million) financing round for installing the first 1,000 modules, led by Verve Ventures and other Swiss-based investors. The team now consists of more than 15 individuals with a strong expertise in R&D and sales. The company’s long-term goals are to open up new lands for the deployment of photovoltaics and achieve a reduction in the number of megatons of CO2 emitted.

For more information on the Insolight, please visit: www.insolight.ch

About the Romande Energie Group

A key power producer and the number-one electricity supplier in French-speaking Switzerland, the Romande Energie Group offers numerous sustainable solutions in fields ranging from power distribution and generation to energy services, energy efficiency and electromobility.

Working in tandem with customers, investors and partners, the Group aims to contribute to a better quality of life, through its own 100%-renewable production, its innovative services and its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Romande Energie is also committed to providing high-quality services and ensuring reliable day-to-day provision, thereby meeting the expectations of its customers and supporting French-speaking Switzerland during the transition to a decarbonised energy system.

Romande Energie is always in search of innovative solutions that support decarbonisation in Switzerland. Through its investment in the insolagrin pilot project in Conthey, the Group provides expertise as an energy producer and serves as a key contact for agrivoltaics, contributing to the boom in alternative infrastructures.

For more information on the Romande Energie Group, go to: www.romande-energie.ch

About Agroscope

Good food, healthy environment: as the Swiss federal centre of excellence for research and development in the field of agriculture, food and the environment, Agroscope develops solutions for the benefit of a sustainable agriculture and food sector. Affiliated with the Federal Office for Agriculture, Agroscope is spread out over a number of sites across the whole of Switzerland. Research is conducted along the entire value chain of the agriculture and food sector, from farm to fork.

Swiss berry production has been rising steadily in recent years. Advances in growing techniques have contributed greatly to this trend, as well as to an improvement in fruit quality. To face the various challenges of the future, production techniques must be optimised in order better to respond to the demands of consumers and producers and to meet sustainability criteria. The ‘Berries and Medicinal Plants’ Research Group develops and tests new approaches for reducing residues on fruits, promoting their eating and nutritional quality and increasing the diversity of the berries. In addition, the optimisation of production techniques aims to improve crop profitability and resource efficiency (water, nutrients, energy) whilst bearing in mind climate change.

For more information on Agroscope, please visit: www.agroscope.chhttps://agroscope.ch

About Migros

With an annual turnover of CHF 29.9 billion (2020), the Migros Group is Switzerland’s largest retailer and the country’s largest private employer, employing around 100,000 people.

Organized in ten regional cooperatives, more than two million members own Migros. The cooperatives are responsible for the core business of the group: retailing. In addition, the Migros Group has its own industrial companies, various trading companies and travel agencies as well as Migros Bank.

Migros alone distributes 20% of the Swiss agricultural production. The country’s largest agricultural customer is also the world’s most sustainable retailer (ISS-Oekom ranking 2019), thanks to its sustainability program that covers the entire value chain.

For more information on Migros:

Migros Media Service – tel. 058 570 38 38/ mail: media@migros.ch

Press Release | July 1, 2021

Insolight and its partners Romande Energie and Agroscope will be building a highly innovative solar installation on Agroscope’s Conthey site in the canton of Valais with the aim of testing a new agrivoltaic solution (insolagrin). This pilot project was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (OFEN). The insolagrin solution, which proposes the replacement of the protective tunnels used in farming, combines agriculture with the production of renewable energy. At the same time, the pilot project aims to measure the potentially positive impact of the installation on agricultural yield whilst ensuring satisfactory energy production. Significant results would pave the way for unprecedented solar deployment, with no additional footprint on the land.

Designed by the Renens-based startup Insolight, the insolagrin agrivoltaic system incorporates THEIA (Translucency & High Efficiency in Agrivoltaics) solar modules offering a revolutionary combination of translucency and high electrical efficiency. Combining two usage modes based on Insolight’s optical micro-tracking technology, these modules focus light on high-efficiency solar cells. When aligned, the optical system can generate energy (E-MODE), but it is also possible to unalign it to ‘leak’ the light (MLT-MODE). The solar modules therefore act like a ‘smart’ shade adjusting the amount of light they let through. They enable the optimisation of plant photosynthesis over the seasons and help reduce the negative impact of hot summer temperatures on the yield and quality of agricultural products, whilst recovering the remainder of the light in the form of electricity.

From July 2021, these solar modules will be installed over strawberry and raspberry crops at Agroscope’s experimental centre in Conthey as replacements for protective polytunnels. Bringing together members from Insolight, Romande Energie and Agroscope, the project team aims to demonstrate that it is possible to efficiently combine agricultural production and electricity generation on the same site, using a dual-purpose agricultural and photovoltaic structure. The results collected will also help to assess the cost-efficiency of this type of installation and to clarify its financial prospects. The solution backed by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (OFEN) will be tested for four years on a surface area of 165m2, designed to provide meaningful results allowing future large-scale deployments to be planned.

“The cultivation of berries and small fruits under cover allows fruit yields and quality to be improved whilst reducing pressure from a majority of fungal diseases” commented Bastien Christ, Head of the ‘Berries and Medicinal Plants’ Research Group at Agroscope. “This agrivoltaic structure was created with the aim of replacing and improving the protective and shading functions of the umbrella tunnels we use over strawberry and raspberry crops, without obstructing agricultural activity.”

New prospects for the berry sector and solar energy

Switzerland’s energy strategy envisages achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Swissolar considers a massive expansion of solar energy to be the only solution for achieving these objectives1. It is estimated that at least 1.5 GWp will have to be added per year (30 GWp by 2050), i.e. four to five times the level of current deployment. Combining solar energy generation with the agricultural use of land, agrivoltaics represents a burgeoning trend in Europe which could take off in Switzerland if the pilot project confirms the expectations of its promoters.

Insolight’s new-generation photovoltaic technology differs from conventional opaque rooftop solar panels. Their solution becomes an agricultural tool for the benefit of plants: “Dynamically adjusting the light transmitted to the plants paves the way for increased protection from climate variations and possible increases in crop yields thanks to the matching of the light to the needs of the plants and the lowering of the temperature during heat waves via the shading effect” explained Mr. Christ.

Through its focus on crops requiring protective structures (polytunnels or greenhouses), the insolagrin solar installation does double duty by replacing these existing structures. It also allows us to avoid the use of plastics and to optimise land use.

“If the results obtained are significant, this innovation could have great potential. Replacing existing structures with solar structures in agricultural areas would complement rooftop solar deployment, and thus hasten the pace of decarbonisation in Switzerland” explained Martial Genolet, Photovoltaic Business Manager at Romande Energie.

The insolagrin solution could ultimately lead to an economic gain, thanks to its simultaneous optimisation of agricultural production and energy generation. The project is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy’s pilot and demonstration programme.

Contacts

Insolight :
Laurent Coulot, CEO and co-founder, info@insolight.ch

Romande Energie :
Caroline Monod, Communication Consultant, +41 21 802 95 78,
caroline.monod@romande-energie.ch

Agroscope :
Bastien Christ, Head of the ‘Berries and Medicinal Plants’ Research Group,
+ 41 58 466 88 62, info@agroscope.admin.ch

About Insolight

A startup based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Insolight is developing a new generation of solar modules, opening up new deployment opportunities in a high-growth solar market. The patented technology is based on an optical concentration system combining high efficiency and translucency. Insolight focuses on the design and the sale of related products and services, whilst the manufacture of the modules is outsourced to an assembly company (currently in Switzerland).

Insolight has obtained various technical validations in recent years. In 2016, Fraunhofer ISE confirmed a record 36% efficiency on a laboratory mini module. In 2018, the module was validated on a rooftop installation by IES-UPM (Solar Energy Institute of the Polytechnic University of Madrid) at 29%. In September 2019, the company was awarded the H2020 HIPERION project (€ 10.6 million, in consortium) to construct a pilot assembly line.

Insolight is seeing strong market traction in agrivoltaics, where the adjustable translucency of the THEIA modules offers a key differentiation with respect to conventional modules. Based on high-efficiency silicon solar cells (20% under CSTC), these modules allow the amount of transmitted light to be adjusted whilst recovering the excess in the form of electricity. The aim is therefore to install the solar modules over crops in order to optimise agricultural production whilst generating electricity. The insolagrin solution, which includes the modules and their control, thus has strong potential for replacing protective growing tunnels or greenhouse shading systems.

In July 2020 Insolight closed a Series A (CHF 5 million) financing round for placing the first 1,000 modules on the market, led by Investiere (Verve Capital) and other investors based in Switzerland. At present, the team consists of more than 15 individuals with a strong expertise in R&D and sales, as well as 15 industrial partners. The company’s long-term goals are to open up new areas for the deployment of photovoltaics and to help achieve a reduction in the number of megatonnes of CO2 emitted.

For more information on Insolight, go to: www.insolight.ch

The Romande Energie Group in a nutshell

A key power producer and the number-one electricity supplier in French-speaking Switzerland, the Romand Energie Group offers numerous sustainable solutions in fields ranging from power distribution and generation to energy services, energy efficiency and electromobility.

Working in tandem with customers, investors and partners, the Group aims to contribute to a better quality of life, through its own 100%-renewable production, its innovative services and its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Romande Energie is also committed to providing high-quality services and ensuring reliable day-to-day provision, thereby meeting the expectations of its customers and supporting French-speaking Switzerland during the transition to a decarbonised energy system.

Romande Energie is always in search of innovative solutions that support decarbonisation in Switzerland. Through its investment in the insolagrin pilot project in Conthey, the Group provides expertise as an energy producer and serves as a key contact for agrivoltaics, contributing to the boom in alternative infrastructures.

For more information on the Romande Energie Group, go to: www.romande-energie.ch

About Agroscope

Good food, healthy environment: as the Swiss federal centre of excellence for research and development in the field of agriculture, food and the environment, Agroscope develops Switzerland. Research is conducted along the entire value chain of the agriculture and food sector, from farm to fork. Fields of research include plants, animals, food, the environment and competition. With its systemic research, Agroscope makes an important contribution to a competitive and sustainable agricultural sector and to a healthy diet with high-quality foodstuffs and an intact environment, for the benefit of society, decisionmakers and practitioners.

Swiss berry production has been rising steadily in recent years. Advances in growing techniques have contributed greatly to this trend, as well as to an improvement in fruit quality. To face the various challenges of the future, production techniques must be optimised in order better to respond to the demands of consumers and producers and to meet sustainability criteria. The ‘Berries and Medicinal Plants’ Research Group develops and tests new approaches for reducing residues on fruits, promoting their eating and nutritional quality and increasing the diversity of the berries. In addition, the optimisation of production techniques aims to improve crop profitability and resource efficiency (water, nutrients, energy) whilst bearing in mind climate change. The insolagrin solution is therefore part of the optimisation of under-cover small-fruit and berry production systems and aims to increase their resilience in the face of climate change. The main agronomic objective of the Conthey insolagrin pilot project is to demonstrate that the dynamic shading provided by THEIA panels can improve the yield and quality of small fruits during summer heat waves, whilst generating electricity.

For more information on Agroscope, go to: www.agroscope.ch

ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce that we successfully closed our Seed Round of CHF 2.3 Mio. It was made possible thanks to our lead investor investiere.ch, as well as the co-investors Zürcher Kantonal Bank and a group of private business angels.

This first financing round will be a cornerstone for achieving our next milestones. It will allow us to finish the product development, demonstrate the performances on the field with multiple pilot installations and prove the reliability with qualification tests. This will result in a blueprint solar panel, ready to disrupt the rapidly growing solar market. Insolight can enable the widespread adoption of solar energy on rooftops, by reducing solar electricity production costs—the critical hurdle for solar power to become cheaper than fossil or nuclear-based electricity.

Following an introduction from investiere.ch, Rainer Isenrich, CEO of Edisun Power Europe AG, accepted to join the board of directors. His industrial experience and solar background will tremendously help us in our future key decision making. Everyone in the Insolight team is thrilled to execute the plan and overcome future challenges.

Thank you to all the investors who participate in helping us to reach our goal of a more affordable solar energy.

INFORMATION ABOUT INSOLIGHT

Co-founded by Laurent Coulot, Mathieu Ackermann and Florian Gerlich in September 2015, Insolight is a Swiss start-up developing solar panels with twice the efficiency of conventional panels. Efficiency has a direct impact on return-on-investment for the consumer, effectively lowering the cost of solar electricity. The step-change Insolight is bringing to the market will make solar electricity competitive with other energy sources without subsidies.
In August 2016, a third-party validation of Insolight’s technology done by the renowned Fraunhofer-Institut (Freiburg, Germany) has demonstrated a record efficiency of more than 36% – double the market average. Insolight is now well on it’s way to market introduction with its first pilot site already running in Switzerland. Throughout 2018 Insolight is aiming at passing various norms and qualifications that will allow it to enter the market in 2019.

DOWNLOADS

Press release [.pdf; 326kB]

Press documentation [.zip; 1.44MB]