Belgian students win several awards with “Mobble” at the final in Hungary

Developing sustainable and energy-efficient houses is one of the major goals of the energy transition in the building sector. Participants in the Solar Decathlon Europe international student competition have now implemented this in the construction of a tiny house, and received several awards for it on 28 July 2019. VARTA was also involved in the Mobble project, whose team comprised architecture and engineering students from Ghent University in Belgium: the battery company provided a VARTA pulse wall storage system. A photovoltaic system on the roof of the small house produces energy from sunlight. The storage system stores this electricity and makes it available even at night or at times when the sun is low. Thanks to its compact size, the storage system fits into Mobble's limited area of 6 x 2.4 x 3.1 metres.

The Mobble consists of modular components. This allows it to be flexibly integrated into existing properties and adapted to changing requirements. For example, it can be used as a guest house or emergency accommodation on the roof of concrete system-built buildings in need of renovation. After refurbishment, the mini houses can serve as additional living space. The project won four awards at the final of the Solar Decathlon Europe competition in Hungary: first place in the Engineering and Construction category and three third places in the Communication and Social Awareness, Neighbourhood Integration and Impact, and Energy Balance categories. 16 students studying architecture, engineering and technology at Belgium's Ghent University took part in the competition. They were supported by the team from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University. Participating in the competition involved not only the architectural- and energy-related design and construction of a tiny house, but also organising and financing the project.

Thanks to plug-and-play, the VARTA pulse wall-mounted storage system used in the project can be installed in 30 minutes, and can be combined with other sources of green energy. The storage system is suitable for everyone who wants to bundle a high energy density in a single- or two-family home - or in an even smaller space - in a space-saving way. "As a result, anyone can become their own energy provider in their home. And at an attractive starting price, without having to compromise on quality, safety and reliability," says Bengt Stahlschmidt, General Manager for Energy Storage Systems at VARTA. "We're convinced that our storage system will form the heart of every intelligent house and every smart home."
About VARTA AG

VARTA AG, as the parent company of the Group, is active in the Microbatteries and Power&Energy business segments through its subsidiaries VARTA Microbattery GmbH and VARTA Storage GmbH. Today, VARTA Microbattery GmbH is already an innovation leader in the field of microbatteries, one of the market leaders for hearing aid batteries and is also striving for market leadership for lithium-ion batteries in the wearables sector, especially for hearables. Power&Energy focuses on intelligent energy solutions for tailor-made battery storage systems for OEM customers as well as on the design, system integration and assembly of stationary lithium-ion energy storage systems. With five production and manufacturing facilities in Europe and Asia as well as sales centers in Asia, Europe and the USA, the operating subsidiaries of the VARTA AG Group are currently active in over 75 countries worldwide.