As one of the world’s most important producers of standard testing chambers and systems for environmental simulation, stability testing and emissions testing worldwide, Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH is a vital cog in the global PV machine. We quizzed Andrea Bodenhagen about the company’s pioneering work and commitment to continued innovation.
PES: Welcome back to PES. For the benefit of new readers, would you like
to introduce the company and explain a little about how you serve the PV industry?
Andrea Bodenhagen: Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH is the leading manufacturer of standard test and special test systems for environmental simulation worldwide. We offer test
systems for temperature, weathering, temperature shock and corrosion, which are used for research, development, quality management and production.
Our test reach in test cabinets and walk-in test chambers are widely used in the PV and energy storage industry as well as in wind technology, geothermal applications and LED testing
PES: How much importance does the company as a whole place on your renewables business?
AB: Because of the broad portfolio of renewable energy technologies served this is an important topic for our company. Weiss Umwelttechnik developed a special test cabinet to allow testing of crystalline silicon as well as thin-film PV module according to the relevant IEC test standards 61730, 61215 and 61646. These test cabinets are used worldwide by renowned test institutes as well as by the main solar panel manufacturers for their own development and quality control.
To support the continuous integration of renewable energy into the energy and mobility markets an important development is the explosion safe battery test cabinet, which keeps personnel and building investments safe while helping to understand the limits of different battery technologies from lithium ion to fuel cell technology under real life conditions. This is an important contribution to bring down costs and risks associated with decentralised energy storage.
Due to our strong presence in the automotive industry for all types of test systems including full drive-in chambers we closely cooperate with car manufacturers and test institutes to support their efforts in understanding implications of the forces active on a driving car.
On 16th of April the Fraunhofer Institute in Darmstadt opened a new facility with the centerpiece being an explosive safe walk in chamber combined with a multi-axial vibration table. This test stand allows verifying mechanical, thermo-climatical and electrical loads on battery systems used in vehicles simultaneously, i.e. under realistic on-road conditions.
At the same time, we offer also various testing cabinets and chamber options to evaluate stationary storage system in accordance with the safety guidance for lithium-ion household storage systems, defined by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW), the German Energy Storage Association, the German Society for Solar Energy and further institutes.
Our testing solution provide benefits to both – manufacturers as well as users or retailers, by allowing to determine the optimum window of operation as well as storage conditions for batteries. Users and retailers take advantage of being able to verify manufacturer information and promote their own risk assessment to end users as well as defining the optimum usage conditions to ensure long battery lifetime.
Furthermore, important safety functions such as predetermined contact interruption in case of high battery cell temperature can be tested for faultless operation.
