The EU-funded REGACE project held its third World Café event on January 23, 2025 at Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, featuring a demonstration of REGACE greenhouse solar panel technology and discussion of its opportunities, challenges and future developments.
The event included a working session led by Lisa Mersmann with the participation of Andrea Volterrani and Maria Cristina Antonucci of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Professor Uwe Schmidt and Thorsten Rocksch of Berlin’s Humboldt University, and six agricultural experts and stakeholders.
Agricultural businesses were asked how REGACE technology could increase the growth of their business, and how REGACE technology could influence the future development of their crop production and improve their business models.
Following the presentation, a World café session was conducted to facilitate an open and collaborative discussion. Participants reflected on critical aspects of the project, organized into the following thematic areas:
- Opportunities
- Risks
- Future Developments
Further explored dimensions regarded:
- Financial Sustainability
- Extreme Climatic Conditions
The open discussion led to the clustering of participant insights into actionable themes, such as integration with complementary technologies and the feasibility of expanding panel installations, while envisaging limits regarding the longevity and maintenance of panel components, particularly under extensive use.
The world café also sketched possible developments in advancing automation technologies and redesigning structural components for optimal functionality.
Regarding the dimension of financial sustainability, the participating farmers outlined the need for mitigating initial investment risks while ensuring the economic viability of long-term use.
On the issue of facing extreme climate events, the group focused on the enhancing internal climate control systems to withstand extreme external conditions.
The outputs of this participatory session in Berlin underscores the importance of strategic innovation, risk management, financial planning, and environmental adaptability in ensuring the success and sustainability of the farming system.
REGACE Agrivoltaics use TriSolar technology to combine agriculture and photovoltaic technology in a unified system based on mounting a responsive tracking system in greenhouses under the greenhouse canopy. The tracking system is driven by a PLC controller that changes the angle of the tracking system according to the plants’ needs.
