Flexible solar folding roof uses existing infrastructure to capture energy
Graubünden company dhp Technology manufactures foldable solar roofs that can be fitted to car parks, logistics areas and sewage treatment basins. Thanks to support from Swiss Export Risk Insurance SERV, this young SME can also sell its successful technology abroad.
09.07.2026
The energy transition is posing major challenges to politics, society and the business world. How can the ever-increasing need for energy be met by sustainable sources? Where can wind, hydroelectric and solar power stations be built without taking up too much space and harming nature?
dhp Technology, a company from Zizers in the canton of Graubünden, has found a potential solution: solar facilities stretched over existing used spaces as flexible roofs. dhp Technology has developed an easy-to-use solar folding roof that can be unfurled and retracted depending on the weather and energy requirements without interfering with the operation of the area under it.
Successful technology drawing interest from abroad
The flexible solar folding roof from dhp Technology is basically compatible with different locations, such as car parks, logistics areas and industrial sites. However, the technology has met with particular interest from sewage treatment plant operators. They have both high energy consumption requirements and large spaces available over which these roofs can be fitted, such as over the sewage treatment basins. Installations like these mean they can meet their energy needs and retract the solar panels easily to allow for the recurrent cleaning of the basins.
The first inquiries from abroad began to arrive in 2023 after dhp Technology had fitted out multiple sewage treatment plants in Switzerland and the technology had proved its worth in practice. Specifically, four German sewage treatment plants ordered solar folding roofs, for a total of several million Swiss francs.
Growth becoming a challenge for the SME
Success and the considerable level of interest gave the young Graubünden company, only founded in 2015, a shot in the arm. At the same time, however, this rapid growth became a challenge: the rise in order volumes also caused an increase in risk. The SME was thus forced to face the issue of how it could obtain the liquidity required in order to meet growing demand.
dhp Technology was able to negotiate significant down-payments for solar facilities in Germany. These down-payments nonetheless needed to be secured via guarantees or sureties. The Graubünden company turned to Swiss Export Risk Insurance SERV, which provided cover through contract bond insurance and counter guarantees. This allowed dhp Technology to invest the full amount of the down-payments in meeting the orders, without having to deposit some of the money with the bank. The company was also protected by SERV against the eventuality that a customer might make an unjustified claim under the guarantee.
For dhp Technology, this scheme was what made projects outside Switzerland possible in the first place. The company did not have enough net equity to absorb the risk of the export transaction by itself. “This shows how the right insurance solution can help provide financial breathing space and bring ambitious solutions leading to international success,” remarked Romeo Grass, who managed the project at SERV. Gian Andri Diem from dhp Technology endorsed this sentiment: “The insurance and guarantees from SERV were a game-changer for us.”
Successfully gaining a foothold abroad
In 2023, the first solar folding roof from dhp Technology was commissioned in Germany, in the sewage treatment plant in Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate. Additional plants in Germany and Liechtenstein soon followed. In spring 2026, construction began on the first folding roof for a sewage treatment plant in Austria.
The Swiss cleantech company is continuing to expand. The rise in demand is underpinned by the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, under which sewage treatment plants from a specific size in the European Union must be energy-neutral by 2045. The solar folding roof from Zizers in Graubünden can help plants achieve this.
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