Dutch startup provides feasible solution for commercial roofs typically not suitable for solar panels.
Siemens has sponsored this post.
The Netherlands ranks quite high as one of the greenest and most sustainable countries—within the top 20, according to Sustainability Magazine. The Dutch government plans to reduce the country’s emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) to zero by 2050. Their goal for 2023 is to make 16 percent of all energy used in the Netherlands sustainable. RABLE (pronounced “rebel”), a start-up based out of Delft, is part of this mission to “protect nature and accelerate the energy transition.”
The company offers an innovative mounting system for solar panels for commercial buildings with flat roofs. Luuk Verhagen, RABLE’s technical engineer, says that most commercial roofs in the Netherlands have structures too weak to support traditional solar panels. In fact, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) reports that more than half of Dutch commercial roofs are not suitable for solar installations.
RABLE offers a solution to this problem with their self-supporting mounting and installation system that enables solar installations to be placed on these roofs without any renovations, making renewable energy more feasible for building owners.
Enter, RABLE
The founders of RABLE, Dirk van Deursen and Wouter van den Bos, were involved in furniture fabrication at the time but saw a market opportunity for solar installations and began developing their system in 2019.
Erik Valks came on as CEO. Valks previously held CEO roles at other companies and had been working in the renewable energy sector for almost a decade.
With a small but ambitious team of eight, and investment from Rubio Impact investors and the Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund, RABLE was able to get up and running and entered the solar market this year.
With the help of Siemens and its software solutions, RABLE was able to bring their vision to life and their product to market quickly. The company is part of the Solid Edge for Startups program and uses Siemens design and collaboration solutions: Solid Edge and Teamcenter Share to develop their mounting system.
Costanza Sosa is the lead product design engineer. She has a background in architecture, and initially RABLE primarily used building information modeling software (BIM) solutions for architectural design. With the help of local consultant and reseller, Enginia, Sosa and team were able to get up and running quickly.
“Working with the design of a metal system was a big challenge and adapting to a new scale was tough,” says Sosa. But more than 10 years of experience working with CAD software enabled her to overcome these challenges. She also completed Enginia’s basic online training, which helped make the transition smooth.
“I continued to build and solidify my knowledge through consistent practice, dedication and additional learning resources like tutorials,” she said. “I also took a two-day advanced Solid Edge course to better understand and master the program’s endless possibilities.”
Finite Element Analysis Assures Parts Work
With Siemens’ solutions, the company is able to design and simulate the parts and quickly gain knowledge on the strength of the individual parts. In addition, they do some wind tunnel testing with scale models. They also use the software for the sheet metal and assembly features, as most of the mounting system is sheet metal. “It is a great benefit to be able to see how the parts work together,” comments Sosa. “Without a doubt the simulation tools provide more support since we can apply a little FEA (finite element analysis) on the parts, which helps us optimize the material.”
With Solid Edge, the RABLE team can easily transport the models to the 3D printer for prototypes. With the cloud-based Teamcenter Share solution, they can securely and easily collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers. “Teamcenter Share provides a secure cloud storage space and allows us perfect synchronization with the desktop while I’m designing,” said Sosa. “It enhances the efficiency and quality of my work and it’s an excellent tool for working with the team, as it enables us to share information, making the process easy and fast.”
Customer Successes in the Netherlands
One of their customers in Amsterdam, DLE.energy, installed 112 solar panels on RABLE’s ballast-free mounting system. “We were looking for a lightweight substructure. The self-supporting construction of RABLE resulted in a weight of less than 15 kg/m2 and with a fraction of the roof anchors. It is a nice innovation of Dutch origin which makes it possible to install panels on apparently unsuitable roofs. We hope to install many more,” says Bart Koornstra, business partner at DLE.energy.
What makes their system appealing, Verhagen explains, is that it is a truss-design based on a lattice structure. Best of all, it is ballast-free, meaning it provides all the benefits of solar panels while minimizing the impact on the roof.
This includes both longitudinal and transverse trussing, resulting in a rigid and stable structure. But the real unique aspect of this system is the patented tension cable that the company developed with Delft University, which runs longitudinally and makes the system self-supporting.
Thanks to this self-supporting feature, the RABLE substructure can handle a maximum span of 25 meters where the system rests on the existing roof beams or rafters ensuring ensures none to minimal load on the roof panels.
The RABLE substructure is mounted on the roof with minimal roof anchor points at the ends of the structure. It is equipped for roofs that cannot support more than 7 kg of ballast per square meter. No structural modifications to the roof are required.
Watch this video to see RABLE roll out the mounting system.
Another customer, Reginox commissioned RABLE to provide a scaled- up version of their original mounting system, the EW series and was designed especially for Reginox. The RABLE XXL is twice the size of the standard version and can handle the weight of eight solar panels per frame. The first phase of the solar panel installation project was completed in February, with more than 200 solar panels successfully installed on the roof of Reginox’s factory in Rijssen.
However, installing solar panels on the roof of Reginox’s manufacturing facility did come with some challenges as the existing roof construction was not strong enough to support ballasted PV-systems, which is a common challenge installing solar panels.
Due to RABLE’s self-supporting technology, placing ballast or extensive anchoring was not required and it was possible to install solar panels for Reginox, helping the factory reach its goal of optimizing energy management and generating green energy.
In the short time they’ve been in business, RABLE has received many inquiries from potential customers and a lot of media attention—for good reason. It is equipped to handle the current conditions of most existing roofs in the Netherlands and help the Netherlands reach sustainability goals.
RTL news made a visit to their production facility where RABLE assembles the mounting systems. They broadcasted the walk-through and interview with Valks, who spoke about Dutch climate goals and challenges, and how RABLE is confident that expensive roof renovations are no longer necessary for buildings that are not currently suitable for solar panel installations.
If you’re interested and in the Netherlands area, RABLE invites you to see for yourself at their production hall. If it’s your first time in the Netherlands, watch out for the cyclists—cycling is the second-most common mode of transport in the Netherlands and the country has more than 20,000 miles of bike paths. The country is making great strides in its sustainability journey and continues to thrive in that respect, thanks to government initiatives, the people and innovative companies like RABLE.
To learn more about their solar panel installation system, visit RABLE.
Visit Siemens to learn more about the Solid Edge for Startups program.
