Dresden-based manufacturer ramps up series production of organic solar films

Following a number of pilot projects, Dresden-based photovoltaic film manufacturer Heliatek is now officially starting series production of organic solar films. Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer came to the event to press the symbolic red button together with Heliatek's CEO Guido van Tartwijk: "With the opening of the production facility, Heliatek has successfully mastered the transition from research to the production of highly innovative products," said Kretschmer. The company plans to start manufacturing industrial-grade solar films in mid-2020 and deliver them to its first strategic customers. The core production machines have been installed, he said, and Heliatek is now working to ramp them up for mass roll-to-roll production in large quantities. According to the PV company, the production line is designed for a maximum capacity of one million square meters of solar films. The organic solar films are intended to open up new potential for PV use on facades:
www.pv-magazine.de/2019/08/21/heliatek-faehrt-serienfertigung-organischer-solarfolien-hoch/

Keywords: News Blog Saxony, PV

Published 11 January 2019

Residential heating oil about 40 % more expensive in fall 2018 than last year

WIESBADEN - At the start of the heating season, private households had to pay around % more to fill their heating oil tanks in October 2018 than a year earlier. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), consumer prices for light heating oil have risen almost continuously since March 2016 following sharp price declines in 2014 and 2015. The last time light heating oil was more expensive than in October 2018 was at the end of 2013.

The rise in heating oil prices is mainly due to the fact that crude oil also became significantly more expensive on the global market until the beginning of October 2018. Currency effects due to the strong US dollar also had a price-increasing effect in 2018, influencing the price trend for German crude oil imports (+42.8 % in October 2018 compared to the same month of the previous year), producer prices for light heating oil (+37.7 %) and, as a result, the prices for light heating oil that consumers had to pay (+39.9 %).

According to preliminary figures, the annual inflation rate for light heating oil at the consumer level remained high in November 2018 (+40.7 %), although crude oil prices on the global market have been falling since the beginning of October. Compared to the previous month, prices for light heating oil rose by 5.9 %. There were significant regional differences: While the fuel became cheaper again in some parts of northern Germany in November 2018 compared to the previous month, it became more expensive, especially in southern and western Germany. This could indicate a low water effect: Transport costs rose due to the ongoing restrictions on inland shipping on the Rhine, which in turn may have had a regional impact on the price of light heating oil.

Source: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), 11/12/2018

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