The title of the story indicates what actually Polina Vasilenko, the CEO and founder of HelioRec company, achieved. At the moment when your mindset turns onto sustainable future, fortified with the solid industrial experience and academic skillset allowing to develop technological or business innovation the real contribution to energy transition becomes possible.
HelioRec is a french-based startup, established in 2019 with intent to claim a share on a raising global floating PV energy market. Polina, the founder of the company, has an extensive experience in engineering, working specifically as a Schlumberger field service engineer and cementing engineer on the off-shore oil exploration sites worldwide.
Observing the rough off-shore conditions, at the same time the enormous potential to use off- shore surface sustainably became visible. Over 2 years of everlasting events, business fairs and negotiations HelioRec now has 2 pilot projects of small-scale floating PV plants (link), intending to raise its portfolio up to 10MW next 2 years and goes through an intensive business traction attracting the attention of the European cleantech investors.
The current solar power plant industry is facing several challenges such as:
- solar panels occupy a lot of land space and in many European countries there is no space available.
- solar roof-top installation is not enough for all customers’ needs.
- power plants are traditionally prompt to have a lower efficiency due to solar panels overheating on the ground (every 1°C of temperature rise corresponds to a drop in the efficiency by 0.5%).
To tackle these challenges, The HelioRec’s solution aims to:
- keep land space free and deploy the power plants on the water.
- provide possibility to generate all necessarily volume of energy for all customers’ needs.
- increase the efficiency of solar panels due to cooling effect from the water.
The core development of HelioRec is a unique patented “hydro-Lock” feature. The idea of the "hydro-lock" is to keep water inside the floater, as water gives additional mass, therefore additional stability, without extra costs for ballast materials, such as metal or concrete (link). It should be also noted that the floaters are made of recycled plastic which literally affects the carbon footprint reduction.
Floating solar sector is one of the fast developing sector. The Global Floating Solar Panels market is projected to register significant growth over the near-to-long term, annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.7% (link).
Few companies throughout the globe are developing different technologies to put solar panels on the various water surface types: natural or artificial lakes, dams, even deserted swimming pools. While the good-looking market is still in establishment stage, the common standards are supposed to be phased out. The main competition consists on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for each technological solution depending on the actual conditions on water – wave height and frequency, wind speed, water depth etc.
In this terms HelioRec is targeting near-shore locations where approximately a half of world’s population lives. Company’s “hydro-lock” feature is designed to resist wave- and wind-conditions. The wave tank tests and numerical models conducted in specific laboratory proved floating power plant stability in typical for near-shore conditions (link).
Not only sustainable public image, but the real land and surface scarcity, as long as constantly growing feasibility of solar power production limelight European port authorities, utility companies or private industrial and leisure facilities near shore on floating PV solutions.
While the calculations show that in the ideal case the price for kWh could be so far on the same level as grid suppliers propose, numerous potential customers negotiations of HelioRec experts confirm that the close overcoming of the common standard barriers will increase the number of floating PV showcases drastically.
HelioRec got over a several major milestones, but the long journey is expected to go as the company ought to accomplish a number of commercial projects in the next couple of years.
Polina Vasilenko is adapting herself now to transform from the startup founder role to ambitious company manager dealing with apparent obstacles on this route. But it looks like the UOL skillset is definitely what will make her succeed.
Contact: Polina Vasilenko <pvasilenko@heliorec.com>