Design Office
Research & Solar Commons

SunFactory Project Design Office is the design office of Sun Factory Project: it designs, calculates, prototypes and documents solar technologies. It continuously carries out the research, creation and dissemination of solar commons — those that make up the technology portfolio of Sun Factory Project.

The engine that generates open source solar commons: articles and plans under CC BY-SA 4.0, code under AGPL-3.0, hardware under CERN-OHL-S and data under ODbL.

Learn more ↓ Technology portfolio

Content under CC BY-SA 4.0 · code under AGPL-3.0, hardware under CERN-OHL-S and data under ODbL. Document produced by Marco Bernardo.

01 · The Design Office

Design Office
Research & Creation

Designing, calculating, prototyping and documenting solar technologies, then sharing them as commons: this is the daily work of the design office of Sun Factory Project.

Above all, the engine that generates solar commons as open source: articles and plans under CC BY-SA 4.0, code under AGPL-3.0, hardware under CERN-OHL-S and data under ODbL.
A transmission hub: sharing know-how and training so that local actors become autonomous.
A node in the network of people and organisations who design, develop, fund and document solar machines.

Discover the contributions Sun Factory Project vision & mission →

02 · The contributions

The contributions
of the Design Office

Five contributions to start with: coordination and engineering, design, IT and communication, entrusted to open source contributors under annual mandates, and handling, entrusted to local citizens through paid missions.

Coordination

Coordination · mechanical engineering · energy calculations

Matching profile

Design

Low-tech object design

Matching profile

IT & AI

IT · applied AI

Matching profile

Communication

Communication & marketing

ContributorOpen position

Handling

Kit assembly & fabrication

ContributorsLocal citizensAntenna contributorsOpen Business Foundation contributors

Paid local missions, through the contributory income ↗: a supplementary income in exchange for an engaging, structuring and formative activity serving the local area and the commons.

Contributions, missions and wider network →

03 · Research & development

Solar research
from idea to proof

Research follows a scientific process, validated by proofs of concept (POC), and enriches the Sun Factory Project technology portfolio.

Calculations & sizing

Solar resource, heat balance, target temperatures and power.

3D and 2D plans

Parametric model, drawings and cutting files.

BOM

Bill of materials: parts, materials, quantities, suppliers and costs.

Prototype

Built by hand or in a FabLab, assembly and first tests.

Proof of concept

Measurements in real conditions: does the machine do what it promises?

« How to create & How to use » article

Open publication to build the machine and use it.

≈ 1.4 FTEcontributors per year

Four part-time contributors, from 20% to 80%.

≈ 2,520 hof R&D per year

Engineering, design, IT and communication (based on 1,800 h for full time).

3energy pathways

Solar thermal, photovoltaic, or both combined.

100 %published

Every machine ends in an open « How to create & How to use » article.

Method and solar machines →

04 · Digital tools

Solar digital
tools

Online tools to harness the sun and spread solar knowledge, freely accessible, soon complemented by educational bots and AI agents.

Solar radiation

Estimate the solar energy available, hour by hour, at a given location.

☀️

Solar elevation calculator

Know the height and position of the sun to orient a machine.

SunBot Prototype

Educational assistant linked to an empirical knowledge base, in writing or by voice, in six languages.

All digital tools →

05 · Technology portfolio

Technology portfolio
Machines & Kits

Many open source technologies, 10 of them already validated by a proof of concept. Two are unique: solar plastic recycling and sun-puffed cereals.

Portable plastic injection kit (moulds not included)

Complete portable kit for injecting recycled plastic objects with solar energy.

Validated · POC

Full price≈ 1,240 CHF/€

Injected eyewear kit

World first in 2021 with Liquen Eyewear and Recua_: frames moulded from recycled plastic.

Validated · POC

Full price≈ 2,890 CHF/€

Solar puffed cereals kit

Rice, corn or wheat puffed at 200–250 °C, 100–300 g per cycle, without water or fuel.

Validated · POC

Indicative materials250–400 €

See all technologies

06 · The spaces

SunFactory Labs
Use & Learn

The SunFactory Lab is a concept: a space to experiment, learn and build with the portfolio's solar technologies. People use the machines there, learn how to operate them and build solar kits. Today the concept lives in three places, and a fourth is being prepared in Accra.

Geneva · Switzerland

Maison Antenna

In Lancy: a solar cabin in the garden, equipped in 2025, with a FabLab, offices and bedrooms to host contributors and trainees.

Solar plastic recycling kit (injection)
Solar puffed cereals kit
Solar parabolic dish
Fresnel lenses

Lisbon · Portugal

FabLab Benfica

On the ESELx campus (Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon): host of the international residencies since 2023.

Solar plastic recycling kit (injection)

Accra · Ghana

Plastic Punch NGO

First SunFactory Lab in West Africa, to produce recycled plastic objects and train local actors.

2 solar plastic recycling kits (planned)

Coimbra · Portugal

Ideavox Coimbra

A complete SunFactory Lab for recycled plastic — injected objects, bars and sheets — and solar concentration.

Solar plastic recycling kit (injection, bars, sheets)
Solar parabolic dish
Fresnel lenses

Discover the SunFactory Labs →

07 · Business model

Business model
Open source & Replicable

Investments fund machines that, once designed, become available to all of humanity. The Design Office is funded by three complementary sources.

① Funding researchDonations, foundations and public programmes fund R&D and open documentation, which are non-market goods.

② Invoicing developmentsCustom developments and capacity building (training, support) around the portfolio's technologies.

③ Selling kitsThe portfolio's machines and technologies are also sold as ready-to-assemble kits.

Understand the business model →

08 · Project canvas

The project
on one page

The project is the SunFactory Project Design Office: a design office that continuously carries out research and development of solar commons. Summarised on a single page: purpose, problem, solution, revenue, costs and impact.

View the canvas Download the PDF ↓

Design Office
Research & Solar Commons

Design Office
Research & Creation