New Lightweight Solar Film to Power Caravans and Campers
Eindhoven, Friday, 31 July 2026.
Backed by a €49 million subsidy, Dutch researchers are developing ultra-thin, flexible solar foil to power caravans, offering a lightweight alternative to heavy traditional panels by 2030.
The Perovskite Revolution: Lightweight and Resource-Efficient
Traditional solar installations on recreational vehicles pose a significant challenge due to their bulk and weight, which can easily push caravans and campers past their legally permitted maximum weight limits [1][2][3]. To address this issue, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), based in Delft, is developing an ultra-thin, flexible solar film specifically designed for direct integration onto the curved surfaces of these vehicles [2][3]. This innovative film leverages perovskite, a synthetic crystal that can be replicated in a laboratory using chemical ingredients [2][3].
Substantial Funding and the Roadmap to 2030
To transition this technology from the laboratory to the commercial market, the Dutch National Growth Fund (Nationaal Groeifonds) is investing €49 million in a consortium consisting of TNO, Perovion Technologies, and LiftPV [5]. Some initial reports also approximate this public funding milestone at nearly €50 million [1][2][3]. This substantial financial injection is aimed at making the technology production-ready within the next four years, with plans to establish a pilot factory in Eindhoven starting in 2028 [1][2][3][5].
Bridging the Gap: Existing Flexible Solar Innovations
The development of TNO’s perovskite foil represents the next major milestone in a broader trend toward energy-efficient camping solutions [1][2][3]. It follows previous market innovations, such as the flexible solar awning introduced by the manufacturer Ective in 2025 [2]. The Ective awning utilizes Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) technology, allowing the solar cells to remain flexible and rollable up to 360 degrees while maintaining an energy conversion rate of over 17 percent [2].