1
00:00:01,994 --> 00:00:04,761
You may have noticed
that I'm wearing two different shoes.

2
00:00:06,776 --> 00:00:08,518
It probably looks funny --

3
00:00:08,518 --> 00:00:10,192
it definitely feels funny --

4
00:00:10,192 --> 00:00:11,872
but I wanted to make a point.

5
00:00:12,698 --> 00:00:16,964
Let's say my left shoe corresponds
to a sustainable footprint,

6
00:00:16,964 --> 00:00:20,254
meaning we humans consume
less natural resources

7
00:00:20,254 --> 00:00:22,501
than our planet can regenerate,

8
00:00:22,501 --> 00:00:27,013
and emit less carbon dioxide
than our forests and ocean can reabsorb.

9
00:00:27,532 --> 00:00:29,568
That's a stable and healthy condition.

10
00:00:30,486 --> 00:00:33,487
Today's situation
is more [like] my other shoe.

11
00:00:33,777 --> 00:00:35,324
It's way oversized.

12
00:00:36,070 --> 00:00:39,309
At the second of August in 2017,

13
00:00:39,309 --> 00:00:41,574
we have already consumed all resources

14
00:00:41,574 --> 00:00:43,664
our planet can regenerate this year.

15
00:00:44,844 --> 00:00:48,355
This is like spending all your money
until the [eighteenth] of a month,

16
00:00:48,355 --> 00:00:51,477
and then needing a credit
from the bank for the rest of the time.

17
00:00:51,656 --> 00:00:53,992
For sure you can do this
for some months in a row,

18
00:00:53,992 --> 00:00:55,939
but if you don't change your behavior,

19
00:00:55,939 --> 00:00:58,436
sooner or later you will
run into big problems.

20
00:00:59,291 --> 00:01:03,936
We all know the devastating effects
of this excessive exploitation:

21
00:01:03,936 --> 00:01:05,409
global warming,

22
00:01:05,409 --> 00:01:07,216
rising of the sea levels,

23
00:01:07,216 --> 00:01:09,546
melting of the glaciers and polar ice,

24
00:01:09,546 --> 00:01:12,117
increasingly extreme climate patterns

25
00:01:12,117 --> 00:01:13,118
and more.

26
00:01:14,528 --> 00:01:17,190
The enormity of this problem
really frustrates me.

27
00:01:18,418 --> 00:01:21,761
What frustrates me even more
is that there are solutions to this,

28
00:01:21,761 --> 00:01:24,114
but we keep doing things
like we always did.

29
00:01:24,599 --> 00:01:26,477
Today I want to share with you

30
00:01:26,477 --> 00:01:29,263
how a new solar technology can contribute

31
00:01:29,263 --> 00:01:31,311
to a sustainable future of buildings.

32
00:01:32,624 --> 00:01:36,785
Buildings consume about 40 percent
of our total energy demand,

33
00:01:36,785 --> 00:01:38,256
so tackling this consumption

34
00:01:38,256 --> 00:01:40,846
would significantly reduce
our climate emissions.

35
00:01:41,476 --> 00:01:43,818
A building designed
along sustainable principle

36
00:01:43,818 --> 00:01:46,202
can produce all the power
it needs by itself.

37
00:01:46,868 --> 00:01:47,909
To achieve this,

38
00:01:47,909 --> 00:01:51,509
you first have to reduce
the consumption as much as possible

39
00:01:51,509 --> 00:01:54,402
by using well-insulated walls
or windows for instance.

40
00:01:54,773 --> 00:01:56,971
These technologies
are commercially available.

41
00:01:57,845 --> 00:02:00,483
Then you need energy
for warm water and heating.

42
00:02:01,130 --> 00:02:03,994
You can get this in a renewable
way from the sun

43
00:02:03,994 --> 00:02:05,728
through solar thermal installations

44
00:02:05,728 --> 00:02:07,869
or from the ground and air
with heat pumps.

45
00:02:08,023 --> 00:02:09,983
All of these technologies are available.

46
00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:13,371
Then you are left
with the need for electricity.

47
00:02:14,001 --> 00:02:14,997
In principle,

48
00:02:14,997 --> 00:02:17,916
there are several ways
to get renewable electricity,

49
00:02:17,916 --> 00:02:19,560
but how many buildings do you know

50
00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,199
which have a windmill on the roof,

51
00:02:21,199 --> 00:02:23,162
or a water power plant in the garden?

52
00:02:23,578 --> 00:02:26,391
Probably not so many because
usually it doesn't make sense.

53
00:02:26,653 --> 00:02:30,150
But the sun provides abundant
energy to our roofs and façades.

54
00:02:31,390 --> 00:02:35,840
The potential to harvest this energy
at our buildings' surfaces is enormous.

55
00:02:36,763 --> 00:02:38,566
Let's take Europe as an example.

56
00:02:39,206 --> 00:02:43,641
If you would utilize all areas
which have a nice orientation to the sun

57
00:02:43,641 --> 00:02:45,347
and they're not overly shaded,

58
00:02:45,347 --> 00:02:48,378
the power generated
by photovoltaics

59
00:02:48,378 --> 00:02:51,843
would correspond to about 30 percent
of our total energy demand.

60
00:02:52,303 --> 00:02:54,871
But today's photovoltaics
have some issues.

61
00:02:55,746 --> 00:02:58,276
They do offer a good
cost-performance ratio,

62
00:02:58,276 --> 00:03:00,966
but they aren't really flexible
in terms of their design,

63
00:03:00,966 --> 00:03:02,789
and this makes aesthetics a challenge.

64
00:03:03,235 --> 00:03:05,710
People often imagine pictures like this

65
00:03:05,710 --> 00:03:07,907
when thinking about
solar cells on buildings.

66
00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:09,986
This may work for solar farms,

67
00:03:09,986 --> 00:03:11,539
but when you think of buildings,

68
00:03:11,539 --> 00:03:12,542
of streets,

69
00:03:12,542 --> 00:03:13,572
of architecture,

70
00:03:13,572 --> 00:03:14,994
aesthetics does matter.

71
00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,067
This is the reason why we don't see
many solar cells on buildings today.

72
00:03:19,567 --> 00:03:20,892
They just don't match.

73
00:03:21,861 --> 00:03:25,394
Our team is working on a totally
different solar cell technology.

74
00:03:26,177 --> 00:03:28,461
It's just called organic photovoltaics,

75
00:03:28,461 --> 00:03:29,458
or OPV.

76
00:03:29,730 --> 00:03:31,480
The term organic describes

77
00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,995
that the material used
for light absorption

78
00:03:33,995 --> 00:03:35,414
and charge transport

79
00:03:35,414 --> 00:03:37,531
are mainly based on the element carbon,

80
00:03:37,531 --> 00:03:38,726
and not on metals.

81
00:03:39,339 --> 00:03:42,185
We utilize the mixture of a polymer

82
00:03:42,185 --> 00:03:44,811
which is set up by different
repeating units,

83
00:03:44,811 --> 00:03:46,864
like the pearls in a pearl chain,

84
00:03:46,864 --> 00:03:49,786
and a small molecule
which has the shape of a football

85
00:03:49,786 --> 00:03:51,131
and is called fullerene.

86
00:03:51,906 --> 00:03:55,837
These two compounds are mixed
and dissolved to become an ink.

87
00:03:56,437 --> 00:03:57,487
And like ink,

88
00:03:57,487 --> 00:04:02,190
they can be printed with simple
printing techniques like slot-die coating

89
00:04:02,190 --> 00:04:06,041
in a continuous roll-to-roll process
on flexible substrates.

90
00:04:06,855 --> 00:04:08,244
The resulting thin layer

91
00:04:08,244 --> 00:04:11,077
is the active layer absorbing
the energy of the sun.

92
00:04:12,167 --> 00:04:14,578
This active layer is extremely effective.

93
00:04:15,692 --> 00:04:19,205
You only need a layer thickness
of 0.2 micrometers

94
00:04:19,205 --> 00:04:20,837
to absorb the energy of the sun.

95
00:04:21,309 --> 00:04:23,777
This is 100 times thinner
than a human hair.

96
00:04:25,076 --> 00:04:27,053
To give you another example,

97
00:04:27,053 --> 00:04:29,733
take one kilogram of the basic polymer

98
00:04:29,733 --> 00:04:31,944
and use it to formulate the active ink.

99
00:04:32,780 --> 00:04:34,152
With this amount of ink,

100
00:04:34,152 --> 00:04:38,008
you can print a solar cell
the size of a complete football field.

101
00:04:39,342 --> 00:04:43,075
So OPV is extremely material efficient,

102
00:04:43,075 --> 00:04:46,175
which I think is a crucial thing
when talking about sustainability.

103
00:04:47,534 --> 00:04:49,485
After the printing process,

104
00:04:49,485 --> 00:04:50,778
you can have a solar module

105
00:04:50,778 --> 00:04:53,265
which can look like this ...

106
00:04:53,265 --> 00:04:55,288
it looks a bit like a plastic foil,

107
00:04:55,288 --> 00:04:56,908
and actually has many of its features.

108
00:04:57,876 --> 00:05:00,679
It's lightweight ...

109
00:05:00,679 --> 00:05:02,712
it's bendable ...

110
00:05:02,712 --> 00:05:04,535
and it's semi-transparent.

111
00:05:07,201 --> 00:05:09,604
But it can harvest [the] energy
of the sun outdoors

112
00:05:09,604 --> 00:05:11,052
and also of this indoor light,

113
00:05:11,052 --> 00:05:13,818
as you can see with this small,
illuminated LED.

114
00:05:15,095 --> 00:05:17,043
You can use it in its plastic form

115
00:05:17,043 --> 00:05:19,929
and take advantage of its low weight
and it's bendability.

116
00:05:21,161 --> 00:05:24,480
The first is important when thinking
about buildings in warmer regions.

117
00:05:25,485 --> 00:05:28,622
Here, the roofs are not designed
to bear additionally heavy loads.

118
00:05:29,201 --> 00:05:31,837
They aren't designed for snow
in winter for instance,

119
00:05:31,837 --> 00:05:36,048
so heavy silicon solar cells
cannot be used for light harvesting,

120
00:05:36,048 --> 00:05:38,897
but these lightweight solar foils
are very well suited.

121
00:05:40,299 --> 00:05:42,746
The bendability is important

122
00:05:42,746 --> 00:05:46,203
if you want to combine the solar cell
with membrane architecture.

123
00:05:46,982 --> 00:05:50,463
Imagine the cells of the Sydney
Opera as power plants.

124
00:05:51,082 --> 00:05:53,513
Alternatively, you can
combine the solar foils

125
00:05:53,513 --> 00:05:55,944
with conventional construction
materials like glass.

126
00:05:56,604 --> 00:05:59,008
Many glass [façade] elements
contain a [foil] anyways

127
00:05:59,008 --> 00:06:00,821
to create laminated safety glass.

128
00:06:01,388 --> 00:06:04,865
It's not a big deal to add
a second foil in the production process,

129
00:06:04,865 --> 00:06:07,730
but then the façade element
contains the solar cell

130
00:06:07,730 --> 00:06:09,572
and can produce electricity.

131
00:06:11,265 --> 00:06:12,783
Besides looking nice,

132
00:06:12,783 --> 00:06:16,910
these integrated solar cells come along
with two more important benefits.

133
00:06:17,738 --> 00:06:20,962
Do you remember the solar cells
attached the roof I showed before?

134
00:06:21,561 --> 00:06:22,727
In this case,

135
00:06:22,727 --> 00:06:24,221
we install the roof first

136
00:06:24,221 --> 00:06:25,121
and as a second layer,

137
00:06:25,121 --> 00:06:26,163
the solar cell.

138
00:06:26,336 --> 00:06:28,834
This is adding on [the] installation cost.

139
00:06:29,058 --> 00:06:30,828
In the case of integrated solar cells,

140
00:06:30,828 --> 00:06:32,351
at the site of construction,

141
00:06:32,351 --> 00:06:34,320
only one element is installed,

142
00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:36,922
being at the same time
the envelope of the building

143
00:06:36,922 --> 00:06:37,929
and the solar cell.

144
00:06:38,965 --> 00:06:40,773
Besides saving on your installation costs,

145
00:06:40,773 --> 00:06:42,908
this also saves resources

146
00:06:42,908 --> 00:06:45,986
because the two functions
are combined into one element.

147
00:06:46,533 --> 00:06:48,388
Earlier I talked about optics.

148
00:06:48,590 --> 00:06:50,636
I really like this solar pattern,

149
00:06:50,636 --> 00:06:53,287
maybe you have different taste
or different design needs.

150
00:06:54,286 --> 00:06:55,344
No problem.

151
00:06:55,505 --> 00:06:56,841
With the printing process,

152
00:06:56,841 --> 00:07:00,986
the solar cell can change
its shape and design very easily.

153
00:07:01,774 --> 00:07:04,252
This will give the flexibility
to architects,

154
00:07:04,252 --> 00:07:06,271
to planners and building owners

155
00:07:06,271 --> 00:07:09,754
to integrate this electricty-producing
technology as they wish.

156
00:07:15,563 --> 00:07:18,289
I want to stress that this is not
just happening in the labs.

157
00:07:18,861 --> 00:07:21,532
It will take seven more years
to get to mass adoption,

158
00:07:21,532 --> 00:07:24,787
but we are at the edge
of commercialization,

159
00:07:24,787 --> 00:07:28,005
meaning there are several companies
out there with production lines.

160
00:07:28,795 --> 00:07:30,638
They are scaling up their capacities

161
00:07:30,638 --> 00:07:32,555
and so are we with the inks.

162
00:07:41,147 --> 00:07:43,472
This smaller footprint
is much more comfortable.

163
00:07:44,112 --> 00:07:45,241
(Laughter)

164
00:07:45,470 --> 00:07:46,675
It is the right size,

165
00:07:46,675 --> 00:07:47,773
the right scale.

166
00:07:48,202 --> 00:07:52,038
We have to come back to the right scale
when it comes to energy consumption.

167
00:07:52,714 --> 00:07:55,667
And making buildings carbon neutral
is an important part here.

168
00:07:56,510 --> 00:07:57,257
In Europe,

169
00:07:57,257 --> 00:08:00,875
we have the goal to decarbonize
our buildings [stock] until 2050.

170
00:08:01,374 --> 00:08:04,386
I hope organic photovoltaics
will be a big part of this.

171
00:08:05,452 --> 00:08:07,368
Here are a couple of examples.

172
00:08:08,291 --> 00:08:12,658
This is the first commercial installation
of fully printed organic solar cells.

173
00:08:13,481 --> 00:08:16,826
Commercial means that the solar cells
were printed on industrial equipment.

174
00:08:18,138 --> 00:08:21,508
The so-called solar trees are part
of the German pavilion

175
00:08:21,508 --> 00:08:24,138
at the World Expo in Milan in 2015.

176
00:08:24,788 --> 00:08:26,950
They provided shading during the day

177
00:08:26,950 --> 00:08:29,391
and electricity for
the lighting in evening.

178
00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,276
You may wonder why this hexagonal shape
was chosen for the solar cells.

179
00:08:33,884 --> 00:08:35,190
Easy answer:

180
00:08:35,190 --> 00:08:38,558
the architects wanted to have
a specific shading pattern on the floor

181
00:08:38,558 --> 00:08:39,847
and asked for it,

182
00:08:39,847 --> 00:08:41,774
and then it was printed as requested.

183
00:08:42,458 --> 00:08:44,151
Being far from a real project,

184
00:08:44,151 --> 00:08:47,974
this free-form installation hooked
the imagination of the visiting architects

185
00:08:47,974 --> 00:08:49,477
much more than we expected.

186
00:08:50,092 --> 00:08:52,577
This other application
is closer to the projects

187
00:08:52,577 --> 00:08:54,810
and applications we are targeting.

188
00:08:55,260 --> 00:08:58,038
In an office building
in Sao Paulo, Brazil,

189
00:08:58,038 --> 00:09:01,836
semi-transparent OPV panels
are integrated into the glass façade,

190
00:09:01,836 --> 00:09:02,909
serving different needs.

191
00:09:03,650 --> 00:09:06,688
First, they provided shading
for the meeting rooms behind.

192
00:09:07,746 --> 00:09:12,346
Second, the logo of the company
is displayed in an innovative way.

193
00:09:12,888 --> 00:09:14,627
And of course electricity is produced,

194
00:09:14,627 --> 00:09:16,760
reducing the energy footprint
of the building.

195
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is pointing towards a future

196
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where buildings are no longer
energy consumers,

197
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but energy providers.

198
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I want to see solar cells
seamlessly integrated

199
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into our building shells

200
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to be both resource-efficient
and a pleasure to look at.

201
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For roofs, silicon solar cells
will often continue to be a good solution,

202
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but to exploit the potential
of all façades in other areas,

203
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
such as sem-transparent areas,

204
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
curved surfaces

205
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and shadings,

206
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I believe organic photovoltaics
can offer a significant contribution

207
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and they can be made in any form
architects and planners will want them to.

208
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you.

209
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Applause)