Industrial Solar GmbH from Freiburg is this year's winner of the 'GründerChampions 2011' competition for the Baden-Württemberg region. The prize was awarded at the opening ceremony of the deGUT exhibition in the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology in Berlin on the 20th October 2011. A jury comprising of representatives from politics, business, the media, funding institutions and the chambers of commerce and industry selected one winner from each region.
Under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Industrial Solar GmbH evolved from PSE AG in 2009 to concentrate on the development, production and distribution of Fresnel collectors for the solar generation of industrial process heating and cooling in sunny countries. This highly efficient system for applications in the temperature range up to about 400°C and with the thermal performance of a few 100 kW up to the two-digit megawatt range is ideal for a variety of industrial manufacturing processes and for the air conditioning of buildings. The potential for solar-thermally generated process heat is enormous. Approximately two-thirds of the overall energy required in industry is process heat. In addition, the energy required for cooling buildings is constantly increasing worldwide. Even more attractive is the additional combination of chillers with other process heat applications. The three company founders Andreas Häberle, Christian Zahler and Tobias Schwind have successfully implemented, amongst others, their first projects in Spain, Italy, Germany and Tunisia with their company. The largest installation to date, with an aperture area of 1400 m² and 700 kW peak thermal power, has been completed at Doha in Qatar. The collector drives an absorption chiller which air-conditions a small stadium with 500 seats. Qatar has successfully bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The solar-cooled "model stadium" could convince the FIFA inspection team. Founding member, Tobias Schwind: "The distinction of the GründerChampions award rewards the commitment of all employees and confirms that long-term developments have future."
In addition, the company has an extensive network of industrial partners from different sectors and application areas, including several internationally leading German companies in plant engineering, with whom the use of the technology is developed further.
The prize winners were selected according to the following criteria: originality and innovativeness of the business idea, creation and preservation of jobs and training places, social responsibility as well as environmentally minded behaviour.
Under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Industrial Solar GmbH evolved from PSE AG in 2009 to concentrate on the development, production and distribution of Fresnel collectors for the solar generation of industrial process heating and cooling in sunny countries. This highly efficient system for applications in the temperature range up to about 400°C and with the thermal performance of a few 100 kW up to the two-digit megawatt range is ideal for a variety of industrial manufacturing processes and for the air conditioning of buildings. The potential for solar-thermally generated process heat is enormous. Approximately two-thirds of the overall energy required in industry is process heat. In addition, the energy required for cooling buildings is constantly increasing worldwide. Even more attractive is the additional combination of chillers with other process heat applications. The three company founders Andreas Häberle, Christian Zahler and Tobias Schwind have successfully implemented, amongst others, their first projects in Spain, Italy, Germany and Tunisia with their company. The largest installation to date, with an aperture area of 1400 m² and 700 kW peak thermal power, has been completed at Doha in Qatar. The collector drives an absorption chiller which air-conditions a small stadium with 500 seats. Qatar has successfully bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The solar-cooled "model stadium" could convince the FIFA inspection team. Founding member, Tobias Schwind: "The distinction of the GründerChampions award rewards the commitment of all employees and confirms that long-term developments have future."
In addition, the company has an extensive network of industrial partners from different sectors and application areas, including several internationally leading German companies in plant engineering, with whom the use of the technology is developed further.
The prize winners were selected according to the following criteria: originality and innovativeness of the business idea, creation and preservation of jobs and training places, social responsibility as well as environmentally minded behaviour.
