BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--By awarding the coveted iF material design award 2012 to Odersun solar modules, the iF design award jury confirmed that photovoltaics can indeed look good. The iF label is recognized the world over as a seal of design excellence. Odersun has therefore put to rest the widely held belief that photovoltaics are unattractive.

Solar modules from Odersun provide a compelling look with their uniform, elegant appearance. They are built entirely to the customer's requirements – their shape, size, material, layout and design can vary to suit any application. With their aesthetic look and exceptional ease of integration, they are particularly suited for use in architecture, in other words in building-integrated photovoltaics (BiPV). The modules replace other construction elements, becoming scalable and flexible building material themselves. This significantly reduces the building's CO₂ emissions, helping to create architecture which is both optically sophisticated and sustainable.

“This design award underlines the fact that photovoltaic solutions are already part of the design age and can be used seamlessly in any installation as a design element themselves,” says Dr. Hein van der Zeeuw, CEO of Odersun AG. “Because our modules form part of the solar building envelope, aesthetics play a very important role for us.”

Alongside the solar modules themselves, the interactive Solar Module Designer from Odersun was also recognized with the iF communication design award. Following its success at the red dot design awards, this was the second design award for the online configuration tool, which enables solar modules to be configured exactly to the customer's liking. The Solar Module Designer is also available as an iPad app.

LINKS

iF design awards
www.ifdesign.de

Odersun AG
www.odersun.com

Online Version (Microsite)
http://solarmodule-designer.odersun.com/

iPad app
http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/solar-designer/id453784184

About Odersun (www.odersun.com)

Odersun AG designs and manufactures customized solar products using a proprietary, worldwide patented thin-film technology (CIS – copper indium disulphide). Its manufacturing process enables the company to produce solar cells that can be assembled into solar modules of virtually any size, form, design or any power, in flexible glass-foil or glass-glass packaging. This adaptability is decisive for applications of building integrated photovoltaics (BiPV).

The company employs over 260 employees at its facilities in Germany and is backed by an international group of leading investors including Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures (UK), Virgin Green Fund (USA/UK), Advanced Technology & Materials (China), PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund (USA), AGF Private Equity (a member of Allianz Group, France) and Valor KG (Austria).

iF DESIGN AWARDS

Since 1953, iF has invited international manufacturers and designers to enter their products in the iF design awards. Design experts from all over the world come together every year in the iF juries to evaluate the entries. The top designs were recognized and rewarded from over 4,300 entries this year across four different categories: product design, communication design, material design and packaging design. The winning designs are displayed at the iF design exhibitions in Hamburg and Hanover and at the iF design awards night to be held in Munich in February 2012.

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