en.Wedoany.com Reported - Korea East-West Power (EWP) has launched a demonstration of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, using building materials as solar panels to generate electricity. The company completed the installation of a 17.7 kW prototype at the Eumseong Combined Cycle Power Plant in May this year and has begun the demonstration.

Since 2023, EWP has been developing BIPV in collaboration with the Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST). BIPV is a method that utilizes building materials such as exterior walls, roofs, and windows as solar panels to generate electricity, replacing the building's exterior finishing materials themselves with solar equipment without the need for separate structures on the roof.

In 2025, EWP passed the fire performance test for building exterior systems (KS F 8414) and obtained certifications for wind pressure resistance, watertightness testing, and the long-term reliability standard for BIPV (KS C 8577), enhancing the technology's maturity. This technology requires no auxiliary materials and has a short construction period, which is expected to reduce construction costs by at least 24%.

Furthermore, through industry-academia collaboration with the University of Ulsan, EWP has developed an artificial intelligence-based 3D-printed energy building system, enabling the installation of solar modules on buildings with irregular curved surfaces. In August last year, this system was demonstrated on the exterior wall of the HD Construction Machinery Ulsan Plant.

EWP is also concurrently advancing technology development and demonstrations in multiple areas, including next-generation solar cell tandem module technology and solar noise barriers. A company representative stated that this demonstrates the global competitiveness of its R&D strategy and industry-academia collaboration model, and that the company will continue to play a leading role in achieving carbon neutrality and fostering future new industries through sustained R&D investment and demonstration-centered industry-academia-research cooperation.