From Fenzi Solar Coatings to Solarlux: a technology for the environment

This spring, in keeping with its mission of continuous innovation and environmental protection, the Fenzi Group took another step forward in this direction when it set up the Fenzi Solar Division to develop state-of-the-art technologies for solar energy. The new division at Tribiano, a trailblazer in new industry trends, has already introduced Solarlux - a complete collection of highly energy efficient and resistant paints for solar mirrors.

Renewable energy sources are currently a huge opportunity for R&D. Many businesses are harnessing this sector’s great potential and, with recent investments in research during the present economic crisis, have developed new cutting-edge products. The Fenzi Group, a world leader in chemicals for the reprocessing of flat glass, is focusing on this area and over recent years has already contributed to the development of renewable energies with its new products delivering top performance and environmental protection.

One of Fenzi’s most important 2009 innovations is the new Solar Coatings division, which is specialized in fine-tuning technological innovations for harnessing solar energy. The first result of this remarkable effort, even more noteworthy given the particularly difficult period, has been the launch of Solarlux, a complete line of paints for solar mirrors with outstanding resistance.
Designed to make the most of new technologies for solar thermal plants, the new Solarlux line of paints meets the highest durability and resistance standards. These innovative paints provide long-term protection for solar mirrors that are mostly located in desert areas and constantly exposed to corrosion by sand, wind, temperature fluctuations and moisture. The Solarlux paints exhibit excellent chemical resistance to corrosion and UV radiation, top performance under thermal and environmental stress and outstanding abrasion resistance. Solarlux paints have been developed and produced to meet a wide variety of needs, with different chemical compositions and application methods that make them suitable for all solar thermal systems, such as the Parabolic Mirror, Disk System, Tower System, etc. These paints come in different versions, for copper and copper-free mirrors, in lead-free or low-lead versions and for different application systems: two-coat (base + top) or three-coat (base + intermediate + top).

Tests
The new product by Fenzi is so innovative that it required the development of new specific testing parameters. Fenzi helped to draft these parameters along with other industry players. The new tests are designed to control the chemico-physical strength of Solarlux paints under the most diverse and critical stress conditions, and have evidenced the excellent technology employed in the design and production of these paints.

The reference tests are:
» high resistance to sand abrasion (ASTM D968)
» high resistance to sand abrasion (ASTM D968)
» high resistance to humid-static tests (EN-1036-1 for 480 hours)
» high resistance to saline mist (EN-ISO-9227 for 480 hours)
» high resistance to CASS Test (four cycles for 480 hours in total, EN-ISO-9227)
» high resistance to exposure to climate cycles (EN-1279-2)
» high resistance to UV rays (QUV test for 3000 hours)
» excellent performance under Blue M test (85% RH – 85° for 120 hours)
» high resistance to weather fluctuations (Weather Ometer WOM for 3,000 hours)
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