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IDEEMATEC: a story of impact and profitability in the solar utility industry

Digitalisation

01/06/2023 • 4 minute read

Solar energy is by definition sustainable. But did you know that there are ways to optimize the use of solar panels? IDEEMATEC, a German company active in the solar utility industry, designed solar trackers that increase efficiency by as much as 25%. We spoke to CEO Mario Eckl about this cutting edge technology and asked him how he built business that is consisting of more than 60.000 units in 25 countries across six continents, generating more than 3,5GW of electricity (already more than the 3 nuclear reactors of Tihange together). An inspiring story about how impact and profitability go hand in hand.

What services does IDEEMATEC provide?

In short, IDEEMATEC is a leading developer and supplier of solar trackers. These flexible devices make it possible for solar panels to move and to follow the sun from east to west. A technique that can boost energy up to 25% in comparison to fixed solar panels. On top of that, the energy is generated more evenly throughout the day, since there is no more ‘peak’ moment at noon. Needless to say, this is an incredible optimisation not only from a sustainability point-of-view, but also on a financial level. Our flexible trackers design offers easy installation, reliable operation, and higher yields – ideally suited to the utility-scale sector.

Is it solely a hardware solution?

Not at all! The benefits to our customers extend far beyond our physical product offering. The trackers are ‘smart’, meaning that they are able to gather data and optimize their performance along the way. We have in-house software solutions that compute the position of the sun, configure data and even correct height. But also weather data are taken into account to ensure safe operations of the trackers. Strong gushes of wind for example can be dangerous for moving solar panels. Because of our state-of-the-art technology we are also able to operate solar parks from a large distance. Even cleaning of the modules can be done by robots. It’s very much an all-in-one solution.

How did you come up with the idea of this technology?

Our company was founded in 2003 in Germany and originally only focused on rooftop mounting systems. Business went well and we broke through in the European, USA and Indian markets. Throughout the years, however, we were always curious to find new ways to optimise our technology. In 2013 we created the first horizontal solar trackers, which are extremely popular around the world today. We were able to grow our company tremendously and we are proud to call ourselves pioneers in solar tracking. With over 50 patents we are constantly striving for improvement in everything we do.

How were you able to create such expansive growth?

First of all, our solutions are recognized for their high quality. Our tracker-systems are flexible, powerful and most technologically evolved in the market. On top of that, they are robust and can be used in the most challenging environmental conditions. Wind, sand or uneven terrains don’t cause any issues. The amount of steal that is used to manufacture the trackers is also very low. We can proudly say that we manufacture the greenest trackers in the world. But, besides the quality of the product, we also needed some solid investors to break through internationally.

That’s where the ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund stepped in as one of the major shareholders.

Correct. In 2018 we realized that there was a tremendous growth potential. At that time, we already shipped 100 Megawatt to the US, and we entered the Middle Eastern market. But it was clear that we had to move faster and deliver flagship project to become a world-renowned player. That’s when we started looking for partners and investors. Next to the needed capital raise, we were also able to benefit from the experience and network of ABN AMRO. Together, we scaled up our business and made big moves over the last five years, with multiple flagship projects all over the world.

An example?

In 2020 we installed a 800 MW state-of-the-art solar plant in Qatar. It spans a massive 10 square kilometers and consists of 2 million modules mounted on IDEEMATEC trackers. It supplies 10% of the electricity needed to power the country of Qatar. A great success!


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