AFFIRMA And ISOFOTON To Supply Solar Energy For Electric Cars

AFFIRMA ENERGY and ISOFOTON, both AFFIRMA GROUP companies, are participating actively in the development of future charging stations for electric car batteries expected to spring up all over Spain in a relatively short period of time. On one hand, work is proceeding with ADIF (the Administrator of Spanish Railway Infrastructures) as lead partner in a project supported by the INNPACTO research program, the so-called regenerative braking-train chargers, or "Ferrolineras" in Spanish, which use the energy generated by braking trains and allow charging from the power lines themselves, perfectly complemented with photovoltaic panels. 

The clear advantage of the regenerative braking station project is their location near the railroad tracks, which in turn generally follow the course of the main highways and can therefore guarantee supply at almost any point in the country. The regenerative braking stations, like the photovoltaic stations, will be covered with canopies on which photovoltaic panels are mounted and have an intelligent tracker that will optimise system performance. The panels are based on technology that ISOFOTON has been developing for over 30 years. In this respect the trackers will be designed specifically for this project, the innovation being that they are fully integrated into the canopies. The energy generated in this way will support the system supplying quick direct-current charging and be coupled to the Spanish railway catenary system. 

This novel project is already being tailored to the needs of the export market, given the interest shown the AFFIRMA GROUP by authorities from different countries and the potential it offers of replication in other parts of the world.