KINGSPAN INSULATED PANELS: Precision Engineered PowerPanel to Transform Building Envelope Design
Insulate and generate, together, is the offering from Kingspan Insulated Panels as it launches its PowerPanel product, a next-gen roofing solution, combining thermal efficiency with PV technology in a single system. GM Robert Guilmartin tells Energy Focus more about using the product to integrate renewable energy into the building fabric.
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Interview with Robert Guilmartin, GM
Kingspan Insulated Panels has long been a defining presence across the UK and Ireland’s construction landscape, but the strategy within the business is evolving. What was once primarily a supplier of high-performance building materials is now increasingly tied to energy, efficiency, and the evolving demands placed on modern infrastructure. Recent research from the British Property Federation (BPF) found that around 80% of UK commercial buildings currently falling below EPC C and B, leaving them at risk of becoming unlettable by 2030. Currently the requirement is EPC E, and letting agents must disclose the rating. While the industry awaits a government response to a consultation request, owners and landlords realise there is a problem that requires national attention.
As one of the five operating divisions of the wider Kingspan Group, the Insulated Panels business has built its reputation on delivering advanced roofing and wall systems for commercial and industrial buildings, and has seen the opportunity. Its work spans sectors such as logistics, pharmaceuticals, and data centres, where performance, durability, and compliance are non-negotiable.
Robert Guilmartin, General Manager of Kingspan Insulated Panel’s Solar Energy Solutions business, whose experience across multiple areas of the business tells Energy Focus about new products and partnerships that seek to address demand from landlords and building owners.
“I have been in the business for 14 years, working in solar for a significant portion of that time. I have worked across different departments including fabrication, architectural façade systems, and a solar PV EPC business which designed, built, and financed PV systems,” says Guilmartin.
“Our focus is high performance structural wall and roofing composite insulate panel products, complimentary daylighting solutions, architectural façades, and associated secondary steelwork for predominantly commercial and industrial buildings across various industries,” he explains.
The building envelope, once considered a static component, is now central to that thinking. For Kingspan Insulated Panels, rooftops and façades represent untapped potential in the push towards decentralised energy and wider building performance.
“Within our division, we have a range of products for solar PV systems. The roof and walls of many buildings are significant surface areas for generating onsite solar,” Guilmartin says. “We generally feel that it is a more productive use of space compared to greenfield sites for ground based solar, which has its place, but there is so much unutilised rooftop space that can generate electricity, at source.”
ENERGY SHIFT
The move into integrated solar solutions is not new territory for Kingspan, but it has taken on renewed importance in recent years. Having previously operated across solar EPC and development, the business has sharpened its focus on product innovation — embedding energy generation directly into the fabric of the building.
“Our focus in the past three years has shifted to product, specifically our integrated roofing solutions – PowerPanel,” says Guilmartin.
“It is a factory applied solar module to the roofing system using robotics before it is delivered to site,” he explains.
The distinction is significant. Traditional solar installations typically involve multiple components assembled on-site, often without being tested together as a complete system. Kingspan’s approach instead treats solar as part of the building envelope from the outset.
“We work alongside one of the world’s top solar manufacturers on the laminate, and we have designed all of the integration of how that solar module works with our integrated roof panel,” says Guilmartin. “That allows us to test the whole system as an assembly from a structural, fire, wind, and hail perspective. We can handle the full complement of testing, and that makes it really unique against how solar is traditionally procured which is with various elements.”
That integrated approach is also a response to challenges emerging across the market, particularly as solar deployment accelerates.
“With the increase of solar PV being deployed, we are seeing an increase in product defect situations with retrofit solar on to roofing systems,” he notes. “There remains a gap in terms of capability of systems, and thinking about solar PV as a holistic system that is part of the building envelope and not something that just gets retrofitted.”
INTEGRATED DESIGN
Manufactured at Kingspan’s facility in Holywell, Wales, PowerPanel reflects a broader shift towards modern methods of construction. Robotics play a central role in ensuring precision and consistency throughout the production process.
“We installed a robotic system at the end of our production line and we fit the mounting system – the structural interface between the solar module and the roof – using robotics. All of the fixings and connections are torqued perfectly. The solar module is then also fixed to the mounting systems using the robotics. We have complete quality control of assembly,” says Guilmartin
Beyond quality, the approach also addresses a growing skills gap across the construction and energy sectors. By shifting complexity into the factory environment, Kingspan reduces the burden on-site while improving safety and efficiency.
“Our robotics system helps, apart from testing and quality and consistency, to move some of the labour into the factory and demonstrates modern methods of construction. That reduces labour and prelims onsite, and reduces the amount of time working on rooftops, which is a benefit from a health and safety perspective. We believe the benefits to a project are significant,” he says.
The result is a system that not only simplifies installation but also integrates seamlessly with wider energy strategies.
“The product itself can work with any battery and inverter system,” Guilmartin explains. “It can be designed in such a way so that it is interoperable with any third-party system,” which allows Kingspan to support more comprehensive energy solutions, often in collaboration with partners.
“A holistic design of the building – solar, battery, car charging, solar canopies etc – is certainly something we can support with,” he adds.
From a performance perspective, the system is capable of making a meaningful contribution to a building’s energy needs – critical as more stringent EPC ratings requirements come into force.
“Generally, we expect the contribution from solar to be between 15-30% of a building’s total energy requirement,” Guilmartin notes, “and when layering in battery technology it will have a different contribution to onsite performance.”
FUNDED POWERPANEL
The timing of PowerPanel’s introduction aligns with a market that is increasingly receptive to solar. Across the UK and Ireland, demand for on-site generation continues to grow, driven by both economic pressures and energy security concerns.
“The appetite was strong in general, and solar PV is mature in most markets in Europe. People understand the mechanics and the cost when considering it as a generating solution,” says Guilmartin.
Recent global events have only reinforced that momentum with geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges catalysing interest.
“People who had considered solar but thought of it as an option for further down the line are now concerned about rising costs of energy and energy security.”
In that context, solar’s commercial case has become increasingly compelling.
“There is absolutely continued interest and the technology is widely recognised as the lowest cost form of energy and the fastest to deploy,” Guilmartin says. “It can also be done onsite, relatively easily, at the point of use.”
For Kingspan, the challenge — and opportunity — lies in aligning product development with those shifting priorities.
“We remain a construction materials business that is trying to find that intersect of what customers need and what problems can we solve,” he states.
PARTNERSHIP MODEL
A key component of that solution is the partnership with Zestec Renewable Energy, which introduces a funding model designed to remove upfront cost barriers for customers.
“We have many large projects at concept design stage and our PowerPanel product is part of those designs for new buildings or considered for renovation,” says Guilmartin.
The collaboration enables building owners to upgrade their assets and integrate solar without significant initial capital outlay, addressing one of the most common obstacles to adoption.
“That is a key focus from the partnership with Zestec as building owners have a need to improve the fabric of the building, improve their EPC rating, reduce cost; and we want to reduce the burden of upfront capex while providing the customer with a high-performance roofing and solar solution,” he explains.
This is particularly relevant as businesses face tightening regulations and ageing infrastructure.
“The key benefit for Kingspan is supporting customers and building owners where they have a CAPEX predicament,” Guilmartin says. “It could be a large volume of buildings that need to be renovated, they want to install solar, the roof isn’t fit for purpose, there is the potential Minimum Energy Effeciency Standards coming in, and there is a significant capex requirement to comply with these requirements.”
By combining installation, funding, discounted energy, and long-term maintenance, the model offers a more accessible route to deployment.
It also allows businesses to prioritise investment in their core operations, rather than diverting capital towards infrastructure upgrades.
“The general commercial environment for most businesses is challenging. Allocating capital budgets for building fabric upgrades may be of lower importance when there are challenges elsewhere to maintain profitability,” Guilmartin adds.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
As PowerPanel gains traction across the UK and Ireland, Kingspan is already exploring opportunities to expand the model further.
“The interest is significant,” confirms Guilmartin. “We have launched in the Benelux, the UK, and Ireland, and the product and the robotic manufacturing process is handled from the UK. We have a strong presence in France, and we are assessing other opportunities for where we can replicate the model.”
At its core, the company’s strategy remains grounded in solving practical challenges for customers. PowerPanel reflects a response to rising energy costs, evolving regulation, and the need to make better use of existing assets.
As solar continues to establish itself as the most accessible and cost-effective form of renewable energy, integrated solutions such as this are likely to play an increasingly important role. By embedding generation directly into the building envelope, Kingspan Insulated Panels is aligning construction with energy in a way that responds to both immediate pressures and long-term demand — turning rooftops into assets that actively contribute to performance, resilience, and cost control.