Hydro produces large volumes of frames and support structures for solar installations and is involved in all main solar technology areas:
- Photovoltaics, converting sunlight directly into electricity
- Solar-thermal installations, which use sunlight to heat water
- Concentrated solar power, focusing sunlight using mirrors and producing high-temperature heat and steam for power production
The aluminium volumes we have supplied to these segments have followed the general development in the market.
Through collaboration with partners and our own research and development work, Hydro is providing the solar industry with aluminium solutions, substituting copper in solar thermal and replacing glass as reflective material in concentrated solar power applications. Hydro is also providing building integrated solar solutions. At Intersolar 2011, Hydro and the Finnish company Savo Solar won the Innovation Award in the category solar thermal technology for their "All-aluminium MPE absorber" entry.
Hydro has minority ownership interests in NorSun, which is a Norwegian supplier of mono-crystalline silicon wafers to manufacturers of high-efficiency solar cells. In December 2011, Hydro sold its minority share in U.S.-based Ascent Solar.
