SunOyster Systems GmbH (SOS) has a unique portfolio of solar systems that track the sun on two axes. As a result, they generate significantly more energy than fixed solar systems. The products are already on the market and sales are growing dynamically.

The two SunOysters – SO16 with around 16 m² and SO8 with just under 8 m² of parabolic mirror surface – always generate heat and can also generate electricity. The PVmover with nine PV modules generates electricity only. With these arbitrarily scalable systems, we can cover cover any energy demand with solar power, from 100% heat to 100% electricity. The systems are characterized by area efficiency, good cost-effectiveness and an attractive design.

Already due to the ambitious climate protection plans of the German government in the coalition agreement, the German markets for solar power and solar heat are each expected to triple in the next few years. Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this development will accelerate even further and annual PV growth will increase to 22,000 MW. In sales, we are experiencing correspondingly strong demand for our portfolio, which is just becoming ready for series production, and have sold more machines in Germany alone in March 2022 than worldwide in the entire year 2021.

 

Now is the right time to invest in innovative solar technology!

Top reasons for an investment

• SunOyster products have great problem-solving potential in the area of power and heat supply and high customer value.
• In view of climate protection ambitions and the European struggle for energy security now is the perfect time to invest in innovative solar technology.
• SunOyster products have strong unique selling propositions: Optimal area efficiency, very good cost efficiency and an outstanding design.
• SOS has a scalable business model with equipment sales and licensing in a very large and rapidly growing market.
• SOS's products are largely developednd capital is now significantly flowing into scaling the business model and serving customer demand.

SunOyster Systems GmbH (SOS) is a start-up with 7 employees. SOS is based in Halstenbek near Hamburg and has a production facility on the GreenTEC Campus in Nordfriesland. SOS has been developing the SunOyster technology since 2012 and has already invested around 10 million euros in funding, investor money and initial sales to make the required precision of the SunOyster sufficiently affordable.

The SunOyster Systems team has a lot of relevant experience.

 

The SunOysters are so named because their parabolic mirrors close into a flat safety position (Oystering-Position) during storms, just as oysters close tightly in the face of danger. This is possible because we only use one half of the parabola. One of our three patent families refers to this special feature in sun tracking. It enables the roof installation of the SunOysters. The tracking is controlled by our self-developed controller - the "brain" of the SunOyster, so to speak.

Our most important patent family (with validity in Europe and China) relates to the hybrid receiver, the "heart" of the hybrid SunOyster. It can simultaneously generate electricity and heat with an extremely high overall efficiency of up to 75% (solar cogeneration).

In research and development our permanent team works together with permanent freelancers and various research institutes such as Fraunhofer ISE.

Pictured: The hybrid reveiver

SunOyster Systems has a product portfolio of three solar technologies that track the sun biaxially throughout the day:

 

Die SunOyster 16 (SO16) heat pvplus

...with 10 kilowatts (kW) of thermal power and 4.8 kW peak (p) of electrical power has two parabolic mirrors with a total mirror area of about 16m². It is already certified with the European Solar Keymark and registered on the Bafa list, which allows our customers to get attractive subsidies for solar heating and process heat.

Die SunOyster 8 (SO8)

...has only one mirror with just under 8m² mirror surface. The heat version has a thermal output of 5.5 kW. With the patented hybrid receiver it has about 1.5 kW electrical power and 4 kW thermal power. It is smaller, lighter, smarter and even more stylish than the SO16.

Der PVmover

...operates purely electrically. We guide 9 normal PV modules with 3.6 kW biaxially to the sun and thus generate about 30% more electricity than optimally south-facing modules and 50% more electricity than modules oriented east-west. Like the SO8, the PVmover does not usually require a building permit.

Superior economy

The SunOyster from series production will be the most economical form of solar energy wherever there is a minimum of direct radiation and heat (or cold) is needed in addition to electricity, and at the same time cheaper than conventional energy supply: Here is a profitability example for the SunOyster 16 heat pvplus for the production of sanitary hot water and electricity in a multi-family house at an average German location in Leipzig with a 30% Bafa subsidy: A short one and a half year payback period on equity and a proud 25% return on equity (IRR) are achieved.

 

Higher area efficiency

The SunOyster receivers have a high efficiency of up to 75% related to the direct radiation. Furthermore, we can still use the areas in front of and next to the mirrors needed for tracking the SunOyster for the installation of additional PV modules ("pvplus") which follow the sun from east to west. This allows the SunOyster to harvest the most energy of all solar technologies on a limited flat area (flat roof, floor area) at the same time. Thus, it saves more money and more carbon dioxide emissions than any other solar technology.

 

Better design

The SunOyster 8, which is also aimed at private customers (B2C), is to convince buyers not only with its high energy production but also with its design. In addition to some standard solutions without cladding, in white and in black color, there will be the models aluminum and gold. Individual solutions including photo prints are also conceivable.

The business model of SOS is primarily that we are the manufacturer of our products and sell them. Our production is located in North Friesland. We manufacture the hybrid receiver and the control system ourselves or with local partners. However, because we source the vast majority of the components for our products from capable manufacturers and only need to increase the order quantities, we can scale up relatively easily. The gross margin is already 35% for the PVmover. This margin should also be reached by the next production batches of the SunOysters.

In addition, we also want to grant lucrative licensesin interesting markets such as India and Turkey. Licensing enables sales with a high profit margin without own investments and allows an even easier scaling. However, as a precautionary measure, we have not yet firmly budgeted any licensing revenues in our financial plan.

Sales will initially take place in our attractive home market of Germany, then in other European countries and finally worldwide. It will start with the SO16 heat pvplus and the PVmover and, following their certification, extend to the SO8 hybrid in particular. From direct sales, we will move to two-stage sales with specialist dealers in Germany and authorized dealers abroad.

In 2021, the German solar power market was worth about 5,000 MW and, including accessories, about 10 billion euros. According to the plans of the German government under the so-called "Osterpaket", it is expected to grow to a whopping 22,000 MW per year from 2026 onwards in view of the Ukraine war, and to retain this size. With accessories such as batteries, this is equivalent to an expected 40 billion euros in annual sales. In addition, our products have excellent market opportunities in other European countries and beyond.

Source: memodo.de

The German solar heating market was still around 500,000 m² and 400 million euros in 2019. Renewable heat is expected to triple according to the coalition agreement, which will also result in strong market growth here. Accordingly, the business climate index for solar thermal led by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) is at its highest level since 2008. Of course, there are also interesting foreign markets for SO products beyond Germany in the heating sector.

Our target customers are very diverse: They range from single-family homes and apartment buildings to commercial customers such as hotels or hospitals, as well as industrial operations and power plants. The heat generated can be used for sanitary hot water, heating, process heat, local heating, solar cooling or feeding into steam power plants.

Due to our technology leap and patent protection, there are currently – as far as can be seen – no commercial competitors worldwide offering anything similar to the SunOyster 8. Our main competitors are therefore normal PV - whose favorable electricity generation prices we also take advantage of ourselves in our pvplus or PVmover, however - and conventional thermal solar collectors.

According to the financial plan sales in the target scenario are expected to grow from a good 100,000 euros to around 100 million euros by 2026, the decisive year for the bonus interest. The gross margin will grow to over 30 million euros, and EBIT to just under 20 million euros. In the following graphic, sales are shown in blue, gross margin in red and EBIT in green. In 2027, a coupon interest of 9.3 million euros is to be paid out to the crowd investors as planned.

Use of funds: The investment is to be used for research and development and here in particular for the preliminary completion of product development through the certification of PVmover and SunOyster 8. However, the majority is to flow directly into the scaling of the company: In the increase in personnel required for sales growth as well as in the pre-financing of production to realize rapidly growing sales figures.

For example, Sun Oyster Systems can boast the following successes:

The development of the SunOyster 16 heat to production readiness, documented by certification with the Solar Keymark mark.

In addition, the quality management system was successfully certified according to ISO 9001. Three patent families have been granted for the technology. 20 plants have been set up and tested worldwide to make the products more reliable and efficient. ;

In 2022, demand for our products is growing rapidly. For example, in March 2022 alone, more systems were sold than in the whole of 2021, with seven systems for over 100,000 euros. In addition to these smaller individual projects, there are larger projects in the pipeline. These include PVmovers on poles above large retail parking lots, where we are in talks with large German chains. Or projects of industrial companies in Germany, but also abroad, where we are talking about a hundred systems and more.

We were able to acquire various public subsidies for our developments, ranging from a grant from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) for the hybrid receivers, a prestigious grant from the EU for 1.4 million euros for the development of SO16 to series maturity, to a grant from the state of Schleswig-Holstein for around half a million euros for the development of SO8 and PVmover.

Another highlight was the presentation of the "Future Star Award" in Beijing, which was also reported on in the German media.

     

Brandeins-Article:

EEHH-Lecture: https://vimeo.com/436439883

Ecosummit-Film (juggling): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsq06mQC-ys