A new project, and a new kind of partner for us
We're proud to announce that Bimefy is a partner in PV SMART i4.0, a three-year research and innovation project funded through Interreg Euro-Meuse-Rhine. The project brings together 15 partners from across the region, from research institutes and universities to SMEs, with a shared aim: making integrated photovoltaics (IPV) faster, cheaper and easier to build into our infrastructure.
Most of what we write about on this blog is construction: BIM, 4D planning, reality capture and site monitoring. PV SMART i4.0 is a step sideways into manufacturing and energy, but the underlying problem will sound familiar. Complex, one-off products are assembled from many parts, by many parties, with a lot of manual coordination between them. In this consortium, our role is to build the software and platform side.
The problem: integrated PV is still too manual
Integrated PV means solar generation built into surfaces that already have another job: facades, balconies, pathways, or noise barriers along a road. It opens up solar in places where a conventional rooftop array doesn't fit, which matters in a region where grid congestion is already a real constraint on new development.
The difficulty is that the IPV value chain is highly labor-intensive, costly and hard to maintain in Europe. Every customized request still involves many manual steps, from design and manufacturing to installation. PV SMART i4.0 is described as the first project to address all of these steps together, rather than optimizing one link in isolation.
What the project sets out to do
The project applies smart manufacturing, automation and Industry 4.0 principles to that chain. It is organized around three themes:
- Feedback loops for smart manufacturing, so that what is learned on the production line and in the field flows back into how products are designed and made.
- An automated value chain for customized PV, reducing the manual effort behind each tailored product.
- Knowledge transfer, education and demonstration, so that results reach SMEs, universities and colleges, and infrastructure and public service providers rather than staying in the lab.
The consortium brings expertise in hardware, sensors, vision systems, quality control, algorithms, software and system integration. Among the partners are TNO, Hasselt University, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich, alongside a group of SMEs.
Where Bimefy fits in
Hardware, sensors, vision systems and algorithms each produce valuable data and results on their own. The harder part is making them work as one system. That is where our contribution sits.
As the software and platform builder in the consortium, we are responsible for the digital layer that connects the partners' work: bringing together data and results from different disciplines, making them visible in one environment, and supporting the feedback loops that the project depends on. It is a close cousin of what we already do in construction, where Bimefy connects models, schedules, site capture and project data (see our progress-tracking use case) so teams can see what is happening and act on it.
Industry 4.0 is often described in terms of machines and sensors, but without a shared software foundation those machines and sensors remain isolated islands. Building that foundation, in a way that works for a mixed group of research institutes and SMEs, is the part we are most looking forward to.
Why this matters beyond solar
If integrated PV can be produced and installed at lower cost, new applications become realistic: PV balconies, solar pathways and solar noise barriers, among others. Lower costs and faster installation also mean more people and organizations, from integrators and manufacturers to grid operators and public agencies, can take part in the energy transition without waiting for a perfect rooftop.
For Bimefy, it also confirms something we believe about our own platform: the same principles of connecting data, planning and real-world feedback apply well beyond a single construction site.
Funding and timeline
PV SMART i4.0 runs from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2029, with a total budget of roughly €6.6 million, of which around €3.9 million comes from the European Union through Interreg Euro-Meuse-Rhine. Regional co-financing is provided by the Province of North Brabant, the Province of Limburg, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, with the remainder contributed by the project partners themselves.
You can find the official project page, including the full partner list, on the Interreg Euro-Meuse-Rhine website.
Follow along
We'll share progress as the project moves from its first feedback-loop work toward demonstration. If you are an SME, a research group or an infrastructure provider interested in what comes out of PV SMART i4.0, or in how a platform like ours could support a similar problem in your own value chain, we would be glad to hear from you.
