Kromatix technology, here on full display at the Innovation Center of Red River College (Winnipeg, VidéoCanada), is winning over architects around the world.

Thanks to a host of innovative companies, a strong creative spirit and a highly educated workforce, the future of the photovoltaic industry in the canton of Fribourg is looking bright.

The canton boasts one of Switzerland’s leading solar energy companies, Soleol, founded in 2008 by Jean-Louis Guillet, a former dairy technologist with a real flair for business. Soleol manages Switzerland’s largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Onnens (Vaud). With a surface area of 50,500 m², the equivalent to seven soccer fields, the plant generates enough electricity to power 2,300 households. But it was not all plain sailing, as Guillet explains, “We faced a whole host of technical challenges, starting with creating panels that would be 30% lighter than normal so that the existing structure could support the installation’s weight.”

Once this massive project was completed in 2016, Guillet plowed his energies into turning his company into a ‘photovoltaic contracting’ specialist. Under this solution, property owners can lease out their roof or other types of unused space to third parties. Soleol oversees the installation of the panels, technical management, and maintenance, leaving the owner to sit back and enjoy their rental income and low-cost electricity without having to invest a single Swiss franc. Soleol’s industrious CEO quickly points out that, “We were among the first to develop this business model in Switzerland.” The market is booming in Switzerland, much to Guillet’s delight, “By the end of 2023, we will probably have installed as many as 1,000 photovoltaic systems. On top of this are the 300 and more applications we receive every month!”

Unique technology

The order book of Kromatix, which is based in Romont, Switzerland’s glass and stained glass capital, is also bursting at the seams. The company has developed a unique technology which uses atomic deposition rather than conventional paint and pigments to color solar panels. The process does not affect the performance of the photovoltaic cells and even makes them more resistant to ageing than comparable untreated products. Rafic Hanbali, the Managing Director of Kromatrix, extols the virtues of this game-changing product, “The technical features and integration options our product offers, such as its ability to replicate tile patterns, are highly prized by architects, and could feasibly be used on protected heritage assets as well.”

Groupe E, the Fribourg-based energy specialist, is the brains behind Solar Access, the first training program of its kind in Western Switzerland for budding and existing photovoltaics and solar energy experts. The aim of the program is to double the number of employees working in the photovoltaics arm of Groupe E’s business by 2025. After all, an abundant supply of skilled labor will be key to making the successful transition to cleaner and sustainable energy.