Meeting point: Parking Lausanne Bellerive at 07:45 (bus leaves at 08:00 sharp)

Transport: by bus

Number of participants: 20

Registration fee: CHF 17 (includes transport and lunch)

Details: Strictly no smoking inside and around the Solar Stratos plane.

Organizers and sponsors: CSEM, Solar Stratos and Canton of Neuchâtel

Contact: Cristina Garcia (cristina.garcfdez@gmail.com)

 

The future is solar and it starts in Neuchâtel. One major drawback of the traditional photovoltaïc (PV) panels is... their color. As they are blue, they don't fit well into the built environment. Now the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) has found an ingenious solution to that issue: it has developed white PV modules able to blend discreetly  into walls – a world first! There are also brown modules that can be integrated into roof tiling. More generally, the first-class research done at CSEM focuses on developing cheap, reliable and ultra-high efficiency PV cells.

During your trip you will visit the high-tech facilities that comprise a clean room, test modules and production laboratories for the manufacture of solar panels.

In the afternoon, you will have the unique opportunity to meet Swiss eco-explorer Raphaël Domjan who is planning to reach the edge of space with SolarStratos, a solar powered aircraft. This first solar-powered stratospheric flight, scheduled to take place in 2020, will explore the potential of solar technology in space and serve as a model of innovation in clean technology and energy efficiency.

 

Programme:

 

7:45 Meeting and departure from Lausanne, The participants will be accompanied by Raphaël Domjan

9:00 Welcome, Prof. Christophe Ballif, Director of the CSEM PV-center and the EPFL PV-Lab

9:30-12:00 CSEM-EPFL Lab visit

12:15 Lunch in the Latenium

14:00 Departure to Payerne

15:00 Visit of the SolarStratos premises

16:00 Aperitif

17:00 Departure to Lausanne