20 to 45 MW per year
19 modules per hour, 7 operators, 550 m² floor space.
Technology · Hybrid PV-T
The Hassabou Collector
Photovoltaics and solar thermal in one module. The collector produces electricity and heat by day, stores the heat and keeps supplying at night without a battery bank.
- Overall efficiency
- > 93%
- Levelized cost per kWh
- 5 US¢
- Output without batteries
- 24 h
- Land per MW
- 2.5 to 3 ha
- Service life
- 25+ yrs
The problem
Why standard PV struggles in the desert.
Solar irradiance across the Middle East and North Africa is among the highest in the world. That is exactly where conventional solar farms lose output: heat lowers cell efficiency, dust settles on the modules, and power after sunset only comes with expensive batteries.
Concentrated solar power (CSP) partly solves storage, but only pays off above roughly 50 MW and depends on a few large turbines.
- Cell efficiency drops sharply at high temperatures
- Soiling costs 10 to 20% of output without monthly cleaning
- Large water demand for module cleaning
- Batteries are expensive and short-lived
- PV capacity factor sits around 20%
Comparison
Three routes to round-the-clock solar power.
| System | CAPEX per MW | Storage | LCOE per kWh | Land per MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PV with battery | USD 6 to 7M | 12 h (battery) | 13 to 14 US¢ | 5 ha |
| CSP with thermal storage | USD 6 to 7M | 9 to 12 h | 9 to 10 US¢ | 6.5 ha |
| Hassabou PV-T | USD 5M | 24 h (heat) | 5 US¢ | 2.5 to 3 ha |
Source: ITC pilot plant and project documents, 2024. CSP covers parabolic troughs (about 600 °C) and solar towers (above 1,000 °C).
How it works
Electricity and heat from the same surface.
In the Hassabou collector, photovoltaic cells sit on a solar thermal absorber. The cells produce electricity. The absorber takes up the heat that normal modules waste, heat that would otherwise push the cells' temperature up.
That heat goes into thermal storage. From there the plant keeps supplying after sunset, as process heat, steam or electricity. The result is firm capacity over 24 hours, without a battery bank.
An automatic cleaning system keeps the glass cover free of dust. It saves water and prevents soiling losses.
- Simple and compact, with few components
- Firm capacity around the clock
- About half the land of PV with battery
- Around 60% lower electricity cost than conventional generation
Economics
The cost of a kilowatt-hour, compared.
Levelized cost over the full life of a plant. The PV-T collector matches hydropower, without needing a river or a dam.
| Technology | US cents per kWh | CAPEX/MW |
|---|---|---|
| Hassabou PV-T | 5 | $5M |
| Hydropower | 5 | $3.0M |
| New coal | 8 | $2.1 to 3.5M |
| New nuclear | 9 | $7.0M |
| CSP with storage | 9 to 10 | $6 to 7M |
| PV with 12 h battery | 13 to 14 | $6 to 7M |
Pilot plant
Measured, not just modelled.
The figures on this page come from the Hassabou collector pilot plant: glass-covered collector rows, two thermal storage tanks, a heat exchanger skid, pumps and controls.
For feasibility studies, ITC scales these values to the actual site, based on direct normal irradiance (DNI), load profile and heat demand.
Local manufacturing
Modules made in the region, machines made in Europe.
Together with Italian machine builder Ecoprogetti, ITC sources complete PV module production lines. Projects in MENA and the Gulf can build their modules locally, to European quality standards.
150 MW per year
58 modules per hour, 9 operators.
150 MW per year
58 modules per hour, 5 operators, 1,200 m² floor space.
300 MW per year
116 modules per hour, 8 operators per shift, 2,000 m² floor space.
Manufacturer data, Ecoprogetti S.r.l.
Questions
Common questions about PV-T.
What is a PV-T collector?
A hybrid collector that combines photovoltaics and solar thermal. It produces electricity and usable heat from the same surface.
How does the plant supply energy at night?
Heat collected during the day goes into thermal storage. The plant draws on that storage after sunset. No batteries are needed.
What does the electricity cost?
Pilot plant data puts the levelized cost at about 5 US cents per kWh, with an investment of about USD 5M per MW. For a specific project we calculate with the site data.
How much land does it need?
2.5 to 3 hectares per MW. That is about half of what PV with battery storage needs for the same output.
Where does the technology fit best?
Wherever heat, steam or cooling is needed alongside electricity: oil recovery, desalination, agriculture, hydrogen and large sites such as airports.
Contact
Planning an energy project in MENA or the Gulf?
Tell us about the site, the demand and the timeline. We'll come back with the right technology mix and the right partners.
Start a conversationITC GmbH, Berlin
- Address
- Alt-Moabit 2
10557 Berlin - Phone
- +49 30 20888 1096
- Fax
- +49 30 20888 1176
- [email protected]