Sault solar panel manufacturer branching out: Heliene Inc. developing car chargers, greenhouse panels.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay

Since its launch in 2010, Heliene Inc.'s bread and butter has been the manufacture of solar photovoltaic modules for commercial and residential power generation. But behind the scenes, the Sault Ste. Marie company's applied research is adapting the technology to help grow vegetables, power cars, and even generate energy from space.

Sales of Heliene's solar panels are still going strong, particularly outside Canada, where 98 per cent of its product is sold, said president Martin Pochtaruk, who launched the company following a 20-year career in the steel industry.

But he views diversification as the key to long-term stability.

"We dedicate a good amount of time and resources to applied research, whether it is to improve our processes, or to find other applications for the product," Pochtaruk said.

Of the applied research projects currently underway, the one furthest along in development is a greenhouse that's been refurbished to use adapted solar panel technology to help grow crops faster.

Installed at an existing Whitby greenhouse owned by Freeman Herbs, the solar panels help filter the light coming into the growing facility, converting it to electricity that is then used to power the greenhouse.

The technology was developed last winter as part of a year-long pilot project, and researchers at Niagara College are acting as third-party monitors to track the efficacy of the technology.

"Greenhouses do use power and pay a lot of money for electricity," Pochtaruk said. "So this new product offsets the power requirements and, therefore, the carbon footprint of greenhouses."

Much like the issue of food security, eco-friendly transportation is looming large in the North. That's why Heliene is also working on a solar-powered battery-electric vehicle charger.

"Electric vehicles are going to eventually replace, completely, internal combustion vehicles," Pochtaruk theorized. "It's not going to be overnight, but it's slowly happening. So how do we insert ourselves into the business by powering those vehicles with solar energy and not with energy that comes from the coal plant down the street?"

The federal government saw potential in the research, awarding the company a $707,250 repayable FedNor loan in September to further the work.

Pochtaruk said Heliene is putting the funds toward electrical design research and sussing out the potential for pilot projects, much like the greenhouse trial, to develop a show-and-tell piece that demonstrates what the...