Leoni taps Concentrated Solar Power market with a new product range and services

Leoni, the leading provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries, has enhanced its offering with a range of products and related services for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants, also called solar thermal energy plants. A further step has thereby been taken towards a strategic objective: the Company wants to become the most innovative and leading producer of cables for environmental technologies. For the first time, the CSP portfolio will be showcased at the 2012 Hanover Trade Fair.

Photo by LEONI AG

The new product group comprises instrumentation cables, low-voltage cables, bus cables, optical cables and hybrid cables, which are all geared to the particular demands of solar power plants. Engineering services, which contribute to the cost optimisation of the whole construction during the planning phase, are also part of the offering. Thereby, Leoni has considerably enlarged its solar portfolio. Previously, it encompassed installation cables for connecting solar modules and inverters in photovoltaic plant, solar flat wires for interlinking the cells and strings of individual modules as well as fiber optic cables for controlling parabolic reflectors.

Reduced construction costs thanks to plug & play cable systems

Photo by LEONI AG

Most of the new products for CSP plants are available as assembled cable systems, which are ready for plug and play. They can be quickly installed without the help of any experts and consequently reduce construction time and associated costs. The majority of the new product developments are designed for transmitting analogue and digital signals for measuring and control equipment inside the complex reflector systems, which are thus best possibly aligned towards the sun. The cables thereby make a key contribution to the plant reaching its maximum power generation. They are suited for use in parabolic trough, tower and paraboloid power plants. The extended range also contains cables for power transmission in the plants’ high-voltage area.

Environmentally compatibleand highly durable

From a technological perspective, these CSP cables on the one hand boast the use of environmentally compatible materials. The insulation material, for instance, as a matter of principle consists of halogen-free plastics. These emit no toxic or corrosive gases and provoke less smoke gas density in case of fire or under high thermal load. Secondly, these cables are highly durable thanks to their irradiation crosslinked surface: they are flame retardant, resistant to oil, UV and ozone as well as cold and heat resistant from -30 to +90°C.

Cables for use on land and in the air

Apart from the innovations for the solar industry, Leoni displays its product range for electromobility in Hanover. It encompasses diverse cables and cable systems for the connection of high-voltage systems in electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles as well as charging cables and internal wiring for charging stations. Moreover, environmentally friendly cable products for the areas of rolling stock and air traffic, energy, data communication, electrical appliances, automation and further industries will be on display. The trade fair portfolio will be completed by solutions for tool calibration and machine vision systems.