Aluminium strip and sheet from Hydro have been used for solar collector frames and collector dishes for some time. Now comes a substrate from Hydro – made from aluminium strip with a particularly low surface roughness – which represents the most cost-effective base material for thin-layer photovoltaic modules.

Another new product is HyBridAl, designed for concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. Here, aluminium strip is laminated with a special, highly reflective and weather-resistant foil to ensure that the system works much more efficiently and has a long service life outdoors. Besides this reflector foil, Hydro also offers tried-and-tested substructures made from extruded sections as well as all other aluminium components for complete CSP systems.

The most important new development from Hydro for solar thermal energy is HySelect, the world's first selective coating which is applied to aluminium strip using the coil-coating process (patent pending, WO 2008/023054 A1). As a cost-effective variant to established PVD-CVD-absorber coatings, HySelect offers a selective absorber coating with high absorbance values of 90 percent and emission values of 12 percent.

HyGloss, a material still in the testing stage, is seen as an alternative for large-dimension solar mirrors which, until now, mainly consist of heavy, breakable glass.

HyGloss offers high strength and high gloss. This aluminium composite material has a high-purity aluminium mirror-finish coating, which consists of 99.99% pure aluminium and is applied to a high-strength core material. This combination of properties – the reflectivity of the outer cladding together with the high strength of the inner core – can be encapsulated in a high-strength, high-gloss aluminium mirror through further processing of the surface.

Intersolar – the world's largest exhibition for the solar industry

Hydro can supply solar heating systems from a single source: the company not only manufactures coated strip but, as the world's leading producer of extruded precision aluminium tubes, also the required tubes.

Hydro’s stand at Intersolar features many types of aluminium solutions, including a wide range of precision drawn tubing, inner-shaped tubes, multi-port extruded tubes, flexible tubes, gull wings and manifolds, as well as entire building systems, one among the nominees for the Intersolar award.

Through its diversity in extrusion, Hydro provides solutions for almost every sectioned profile. The company supply support structures, frames and mounting systems for photovoltaic, flat plate and evacuated tube collectors as well as CSP segments in the solar industry.