S.O.L.I.D. GESELLSCHAFT FUR SOLARINSTALLATION UND DESIGN MBH

Their core work

SOLID is an Austrian engineering company that designs and installs large-scale solar thermal systems — not panels for rooftops, but industrial-grade solar heat infrastructure for district heating networks and energy-intensive industries. Their H2020 work confirms two distinct application tracks: mobilizing solar district heating investments at the policy and market level, and integrating solar process heat directly into food and agro-industrial production lines. As a private SME with "Solarinstallation und Design" in their legal name, they are practitioners first — they bring deployment experience, system integration know-how, and thermoeconomic analysis capabilities that pure research partners lack. In EU consortia, they function as the bridge between solar technology development and real-world industrial implementation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (SDHp2m, 2016–2018), SOLID's role was tied to district heating — a well-established application for large solar thermal — with a coordination and support focus on policy instruments and market uptake. Their second project (SHIP2FAIR, 2018–2023) marks a clear pivot toward industrial process heat, with a technically richer keyword profile: thermoeconomic analysis, process control, and thermal integration applied to food and agro-food production. This shift reflects a broader industry trend — as district heating markets mature, solar thermal specialists are moving upstream into harder-to-decarbonize industrial heat demand, where deployment complexity is higher and differentiation is greater.

SOLID is moving from market-enabling roles in district heating toward technical integration of solar heat in industrial and food-sector production processes — a space with growing demand as manufacturing industries face decarbonization pressure.

How they like to work

SOLID has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as project coordinator — across both H2020 projects, suggesting they prefer to contribute specialized implementation expertise rather than take on administrative leadership. Despite only two projects, they have built connections with 32 unique partners across 12 countries, indicating they join large, multi-national consortia rather than tight bilateral collaborations. This profile suggests a reliable specialist contributor that brings industrial deployment credibility to research-heavy teams.

SOLID has engaged with 32 unique consortium partners across 12 countries in just two projects — an unusually broad network for a small SME, pointing to large pan-European consortia rather than targeted bilateral partnerships. No dominant geographic cluster is evident from the data, suggesting openness to working across EU member states.

What sets them apart

Unlike the universities and research institutes that typically lead solar thermal consortia, SOLID is a commercial installer with real project delivery experience — they know what it takes to put a system in the ground and make it run. This makes them valuable in Innovation Actions where demonstrating real-world applicability is required, not just theoretical feasibility. For a consortium targeting food manufacturers or district heating operators as end users, SOLID adds credibility that a lab-based partner cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SHIP2FAIR
  A five-year Innovation Action (2018–2023) targeting solar heat integration in food and agro-industries — the longer duration and IA scheme indicate substantial hands-on deployment work, not just policy analysis.
• SDHp2m
  A Coordination and Support Action for solar district heating market development — shows SOLID's ability to contribute to policy and market strategy, not just technical installation.