SOLARGAPS LLC

Their core work

SolarGaps LLC is a Ukrainian deep-tech startup that develops energy-generating smart solar window blinds — photovoltaic-integrated blind systems that turn standard windows into micro power plants while controlling light and heat entry. Their product is a building-integrated renewable energy device aimed at urban buildings where rooftop solar is impractical. They went through the full EU SME Instrument pathway, from feasibility validation in Phase 1 to full commercial scale-up in Phase 2, suggesting a product that passed technical and market due diligence at the European level. Their focus is squarely on a single hardware product rather than broad R&D services.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SolarGaps has no meaningful keyword evolution to analyze because both projects cover identical subject matter — the same product across two funding phases. Between 2017 and 2021, the shift was not thematic but developmental: from concept validation (Phase 1, €50,000 feasibility) to full commercial scale-up (Phase 2, ~€1M deployment). This is a company that picked one technology and went all-in on it, with EU funding supporting product maturity rather than research diversification.

SolarGaps completed the SME Instrument cycle by 2021, suggesting they are now in a post-EU-funding commercial phase — any future collaboration would likely be as a technology provider or pilot deployment partner rather than a research applicant.

How they like to work

SolarGaps operates exclusively as a solo coordinator — both projects were run independently with zero recorded consortium partners, which is typical for SME Instrument grants designed for individual companies. They do not have a track record of multi-partner collaboration or consortium building within H2020. Anyone seeking to partner with them would be engaging a product company, not a research network node.

SolarGaps has no recorded H2020 consortium partners and collaborated with zero countries outside Ukraine within the EU framework data. Their network, if any, is likely commercial rather than academic or consortium-based.

What sets them apart

SolarGaps is one of very few Ukrainian SMEs to have completed both phases of the EU SME Instrument, which signals that their solar blind technology passed competitive European-level technical and commercial review twice. Their product occupies a specific niche — energy generation at the window level — that sits between traditional rooftop solar and passive shading systems, relevant to urban retrofitting where space is constrained. For a consortium needing a validated BIPV component or a pilot site hardware partner, they offer a commercially advanced, grant-tested product rather than lab-stage research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SolarGaps
  Phase 2 SME Instrument award of nearly €1M is the largest grant and represents European validation of the product's commercial readiness and market potential.
• SolarGaps
  Phase 1 feasibility grant (2017) marks the entry point — passing this competitive filter positioned them as one of relatively few Ukrainian hardware startups to win EU innovation funding.