solar panels that bend over backwards (and like it)

Solar panels from Merlin Solar, a company founded in 2016 by Venkatesan Murali, offer a new approach to renewable energies with a flexible and resistant product, far from classic models that are often heavy and fragile.

Nomadic sun

The technology used is based on monocrystalline silicon, a common and affordable material, but also prone to cracking. Rather than resorting to new materials or concepts, the manager preferred to focus on the durability of this material with a mesh of internal connections resistant to shocks and twists. This choice paid off: “ All of a sudden we had a product that was not only crack resistant, but also electrically resistant », he explains to TechCrunch.

Merlin panels are approximately 75% lighter than traditional glass panels and are easily installed thanks to an adhesive layer, like a sticker. This flexibility allows them to be installed on curved surfaces, such as caravan and truck roofs, without a metal frame or rigid support. The flexibility of the panels thus opens the door to new uses in contexts where portability and adaptability are crucial, a characteristic which has earned them rapid adoption in the motorhome type vehicle and transport sector.

In addition to their lightness, Merlin Solar panels are designed to better manage the effects of partial shading. In a conventional solar panel, a simple leaf or shadow cast on a corner of the module can cause a sudden drop in energy production. Using a network of connections between cells, Merlin panels can bypass shaded areas, ensuring continuous energy production.

This particularity makes the product particularly interesting for owners of leisure vehicles and transport companies, who see it as an effective alternative to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, particularly for powering on-board equipment such as refrigerators.

The startup has concluded contracts with companies like Perdue, Daimler and Ryder to install its panels on trucks, which helps reduce dependence on diesel. This technology is proving profitable for transportation companies, which realize a return on investment in about a year and a half, according to Venkatesan Murali.

Merlin Solar is also supported in its growth by financing of 31 million dollars, resulting from a fundraising led among others by the French construction materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain. This investment should enable Merlin to increase its production capacity to meet increasing demand. “ We hope that Saint-Gobain, one of the largest suppliers of roofing materials, will become one of our main customers », confides Laura Allen, COO of Merlin, with a view to integrating these panels into Saint-Gobain solar shingles.

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