April 9, 2021

Custom-Art European Project: making Photovoltaics more accessible to the everyday life of citizens

Custom-Art European Project: making Photovoltaics more accessible to the everyday life of citizens

Imagine if we could integrate a photovoltaic panel in any kind of building surface or in any kind of urban furniture without having any constraint regarding size, shape and weight.


This would open a new perspective for the distributed energy generation in urban areas, making "near-zero energy buildings and districts" a reality and improving citizen’s quality of life in a more sustainable environment.


However, mass adoption of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) and Product Integrated Photovoltaics (PIPV) solutions can only be achieved by developing cost-efficient and sustainable thin-film technologies with unbeatable aesthetic functionalities, mechanical flexibility and optical tunability.


The European-funded Custom-Art project aims to develop next generation Building Integrated Photovoltaics and Product Integrated Photovoltaics modules based on earth abundant thin-film materials such as kesterites:

  • Custom-Art will bring flexible and semi-transparent kesterites solar modules to a higher level of maturity demonstrating very competitive conversion efficiencies and increased durability over 35 years at reduced production costs.
  • By combining advanced strategies for materials properties management with customized modules design, two types of products will be developed and demonstrated at real life operational conditions, including flexible and semi-transparent modules that will be integrated in building and urban furniture elements.

Custom-Art involves 17 partners and 3 Third Parties, including the world leading actors involved in the development of kesterite technologies.


Check up the new video release from Custom-Art in this link:




IMRA’s main role is to develop and upscale a spray vacuum-free thin film fabrication on steel flexible substrates, in very close collaboration with several partners of the consortium.


CUSTOM-ART project stands for “Disruptive kesterites-based thin film technologies customised for challenging architectural and active urban furniture applications”, and started on September 2020.


Web site: www.custom-art-h2020.eu


This project has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 952982.