Dr. Henning Helmers

Dr. Henning Helmers is an expert in photovoltaics. He joined Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg in 2008. In 2013, he established a new business area on optical power transfer. Since 2019, he is the Deputy Head of Department »III-V Photovoltaics and Concentrator Technology«. His research interests include high efficiency device design for III-V solar cells and photonic power converters, multi-junction device architectures, thin-film processing and back reflector technology, micro-concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), power-by-light systems, and combined power and data transmission. In 2021, a team led by Dr. Helmers demonstrated a record breaking photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 68.9% for 858 nm monochromatic light.

Dr. Helmers studied physics and philosophy in Oldenburg, Germany and in Lund, Sweden. He holds a doctoral degree in physics from University of Oldenburg (2013, summa cum laude). He authored more than 100 scientific publications, was plenary and invited speaker (incl. SPIE Photonics West 2024: OE102, APC2022, OWPT2022, OWPT2021, OWPT2019), co-chair of SPIE Photonics West 2025: Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices (OE102) conference, serves in the program committees for SPIE Photonics West: Optical Power Delivery (LA406) conference and the Optical Wireless and Fiber Power Transmission Conference and as a reviewer for the IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference as well as various scientific journals.

Dr. Helmers is married and has four children. Apart from his professional endeavors, he enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with his family in the beautiful nature of the Black Forest and the Rhine plain around Freiburg.