Solbian
Solbian started with a wager. Giovanni Soldini and Marco Bianucci (the most important Italian navigator and an affirmed physicist) wanted to use solar energy on racing yachts. It was 2006, and even though photovoltaics had become widespread, solar energy applications on moving vehicles were still in the pioneering stage and unsatisfactory, if the expensive systems on satellites are excluded. Something was missing. The photovoltaic modules used in building construction were too heavy, difficult to apply, with their rigid glass cover, ill-suited to the marine environment and poorly performing due to the inevitable shading on sailing boats.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Solar Energy
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
History
Marco and Giovanni with a common passion for sailing and renewable energy, joined forces and that was the turning point. The idea was actually very simple, to produce lightweight, flexible photovoltaic modules using the fragile monocrystalline silicon solar cells (the most efficient, apart from very expensive products used in space) and overcome shading issues. The first boat to be fitted with Solbian modules was Giovanni Soldini’s Class 40. It had 15 small modules, each with its own charge controller, specifically developed by the University of Salerno as similar products were not available on the market. A concept which would later be called distributed MPPT, the most efficient method for optimizing energy production on moving vehicles, with varying orientation and shading.
In 2007, Giovanni won the 'Transat Jacques Vabre' in the summer and the 'Ostar' in the winter, helped by a lighter boat due to the need for less fuel. The future of photovoltaics in yachting became clear.
Solbian then grew, adding industrial resources and individual skills, and through the technological development of both photovoltaic modules and control electronics. Solbian products were not only supplied to racing yachts and the marine industry in general, but also to hundreds of applications in many different fields. From the obvious use on campers and caravans to mountain huts, from tents to humanitarian installations, from the most futuristic architectural applications to solar racing cars, from electric bike charging stations to solar chargers for cellphones and tablets.
A broadening range of applications runs hand in hand with technological development, thanks to advances in the fields of polymer chemistry and electronics.
Why Choose Us
Driven by noble energy
The sense of freedom, the rushing wind and water: experiencing the sea on a yacht moving in perfect harmony with nature is a passionate experience.
Since 2007, the same passion has been driving Solbian to produce Solbianflex photovoltaic panels: innovative, flexible, light and highly efficient. They provide energy where it is needed, a natural and environmentally-friendly source.
Giovanni Soldini was one of the first sailors to choose Solbianflex panels for his adventurous oceanic crossings, testing their quality and reliability in the harsh conditions on board.
Solbianflex panels are particularly suited to sailing yachts, but they are equally suited to applications in electric mobility, caravans and campers, trekking, tents and mountain huts, emergency structures and building integrated projects.
- Because we guarantee the quality of the product and its duration in time.
- Because our panels are very resilient, thin (less than 2 mm) and extraordinarily flexible, able to adapt to curved surfaces, such as the deck of a boat.
- Because our panels are ultra-lightweight: about 2.5 kg per square meter, compared to 12 kg and more of traditional panels.
- Because we manufacture the SP series, with the most efficient solar cells on the market: high power even in very small dimensions.
- Because our panels are bespoke to the customer’s requirements: clients can choose the number of cells, colour, shape and electrical characteristics to obtain a result that suits their needs perfectly.
- Because the ease of installation, both permanent and removable, is one of the strengths of Solbian: from structural adhesive to steel eyelets, all the different fixing methods provide easy installation.
- Because we offer a wide range of accessories, designed and manufactured for the marine industry.
- Because Solbian panels have been tested in extreme conditions by great heroes of sailing: Giovanni Soldini, Ambrogio Beccaria, Boris Herrmann and many others.
- Because our products are certified according to IEC 61215, IEC 61730 and IEC 61701 (salt mist). Solbian has also obtained ISO 9001 Quality Certification.
Innovation
What makes Solbianflex panels innovative? The answer is simple: they are manufactured by encapsulating photovoltaic cells between polymer layers, without using protective glass. Solbian is not the only one to have followed this path, but it is the first to have developed a flexible, lightweight photovoltaic module using crystalline silicon cells, robust enough to pass the stringent tests of the IEC certifications (61215 and 62730): a result already obtained in 2011.
Solbian uses the best crystalline silicon cells from quality suppliers, like many other module manufacturers. However, the various polymer layers that encapsulate and protect the cells are an exclusive patented recipe, kept secret like all great industrial recipes. A recipe elaborated and improved over five years and constantly evolving to keep pace with technology.
Multiple layers of polymers and various surface treatments constitute the shell within which the very fragile crystalline cells (less than 0.2 mm thick) are transformed into a flexible, lightweight, and robust panel.
Besides continuous improvement of its photovoltaic modules, Solbian has always been involved in the development of the electronics, both through close cooperation with partners and by developing its own solar charge controllers.
Quality
Solbian’s manufacturing is in Avigliana, in the Province of Turin, Italy. Its plant is certified according to ISO 9001 (quality).
Solbianflex products are certified according to IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 (certification obtained in 2011 and renewed in 2015, having improved some of the materials). The modules undergo the necessary control procedures related to these certifications, and in particular each module is checked visually and measured electrically in a class A solar simulator (calibrated monthly). All data are stored for traceability.
The cells used in the SP series products are top quality back-contact cells.
All polymers are supplied by European suppliers. Four of these polymers are customised and produced under Solbian Specifications.
The Junction Boxes, the cables and the connectors are supplied by Hirschmann Automotive (Austria), and Multicontact, the company which created the Standard for connectors (MC4 and MC3).
The electronics that equip the ALLinONE series and the Energy Flyer has been developed by Solbian and the circuits are manufactured in Italy, just as the various plastic and metal details that protect the electronics, the frames and the boxes for packaging.
The charge controllers offered by Solbian have been selected among the best on the market and are produced in Italy, in the USA and by European companies.