Data Protection

When you use this website, your personal data will be processed by us as the data controller and stored for the period required to fulfil the specified purposes and legal obligations. In the following, we will inform you about what data is involved, how it is processed and what rights you have in this regard.

According to Art. 4 No. 1 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

Content

1. Name and Contact Information of Controller and Corporate Data Protection Office
2. Processing of personal data and purposes of processing
3. Forwarding of data
4. Web analysis/tracking by LeadLab ( Wiredminds GmbH)
5. Social media plugins
6. YouTube
7. Rights of data subjects
8. Data security
9. Up-to-dateness and amendment of this data protection information

 

1. Name and contact details of the controller and the company data protection officer

This data protection information applies to data processing on our website www.ise.fraunhofer.de by the controller:

The person responsible is:

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Hansastrasse 27 c,
80686 Munich

on behalf of its Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE

(hereinafter referred to as "Fraunhofer ISE")

 

E-mail:             dsa@ise.fraunhofer.de
Phone:             +49 761 4588-0
Fax:                 +49 761 4588-9000

The data protection officer of Fraunhofer can be contacted at the above address, Attn: Data Protection Officer or at datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de can be contacted.

You can contact our data protection officer directly at any time if you have any questions about data protection law or your rights as a data subject.

 

2. Processing of personal data and purposes of processing

 

a)  When visiting the website

You can access our website without having to disclose any information about your identity. The browser used on your device only automatically sends information to the server of our website (e.g. browser type and version, date and time of access) to enable the website to establish a connection. This also includes the IP address of your requesting device. This is temporarily stored in a log file and deleted after 30 days at the latest.

The IP address is processed for technical and administrative purposes of connection establishment and stability in order to ensure the security and functionality of our website and to be able to prosecute any illegal attacks on it if necessary.

The legal basis for the processing of the IP address is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the aforementioned security interest and the need to provide our website without disruption.

We cannot draw any direct conclusions about your identity from the processing of the IP address and other information in the log file.

We also use analysis services when you visit our website. You will find more detailed explanations in this data protection information below.

 

b) When registering for events

We regularly organise a wide range of events via our website, for which you can register online.

A number of mandatory details must be provided when registering for an event. This regularly includes

• Salutation, title, surname, first name, company, function if applicable
• For chargeable events: Address, payment details, depending on the payment method you have selected (e.g. credit card details, bank details) and
• E-mail address.

The mandatory data is processed in order to be able to identify you as a participant in the event, to check the plausibility of the data entered, to reserve your participation place and to establish or implement the contract of participation with you.

We also need your data in order to create name badges and participation lists for other participants and to provide you with information about the event before, during and after the event. This is done to optimise your participation and to enable us to plan and guarantee a smooth event.

We need the payment details to invoice the participation fee.

In addition, further information, such as food preferences, choice of workshops, seminars or lectures, can be provided voluntarily. The provision of voluntary data enables us to plan and organise the event in line with your interests.

The data processing is carried out at your request and is required in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR for the purposes mentioned for the fulfilment of the participant contract and the pre-contractual measures.

We will only use your e-mail address to inform you about similar events and similar topics in the future and to send you information free of advertising if you have expressly consented to such use or if we have informed you separately when collecting your e-mail address and pointed out your right to object to this use at any time. If this use is not based on consent, the processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in informing our participants about other events organised by us and about non-promotional information.

The personal data collected by us for the event will generally be stored for fee-based events until the end of the regular limitation period of 3 years after the end of the year in which the event took place and then deleted. In the case of free events, we delete the personal data collected by us no later than six months after the event has taken place. Data will only be stored beyond the period specified in each case if:

• we are obliged to store data for a longer period of time in accordance with Article 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. c GDPR due to statutory retention and documentation obligations (in particular Section 147 AO). In this case, the data will only be stored to the extent required by the retention obligation.
• you have consented to further storage in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR.
• we may use your e-mail address under the conditions of Section 7 (3) UWG to inform you about future events by e-mail. In this case, we will store your e-mail address and your first name and surname until you object to processing for this purpose.

Conexio-PSE GmbH

We work together with the service provider Conexio-PSE GmbH, Kiehnlestraße 16, 75172 Pforzheim, Germany ("Conexio-PSE GmbH") in the context of event registration. The purpose of this cooperation is the professional administration of online registrations. For this purpose, the data entered is stored on the servers of Conexio-PSE GmbH in Germany.

We have concluded an order processing contract with Conexio-PSE GmbH. Through this contract, Conexio-PSE GmbH ensures that it processes the data on our behalf in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the rights of the data subjects.

Reservix GmbH

We work together with the service provider Reservix GmbH, Humboldtstraße 2, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany ("Reservix GmbH") in the context of event registration. The purpose of this cooperation is the professional management of online registrations. For this purpose, the data entered is stored on the servers of Reservix GmbH in Germany.

We have concluded an order processing contract with Reservix GmbH. Through this contract, Reservix GmbH ensures that it processes the data on our behalf in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the rights of the data subjects.

Mailingwork GmbH

We work with the service provider Mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan, Germany ("Mailingwork") in the context of event registration via our web forms. The purpose of this collaboration is the professional management of online registrations and the sending of emails. For this purpose, the data entered is stored on the servers of Mailingwork in Germany.

We have concluded an order processing contract with Mailingwork. Through this contract, Mailingwork ensures that they process the data on our behalf in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantee the protection of the rights of the data subjects.

Photo and video recordings

Photos and videos will be taken to document the event visually. It cannot be ruled out that you can be directly or indirectly identified in the recordings, meaning that this involves personal data.

The recordings are made for Fraunhofer and used for news in direct connection with the event and for internal and external reporting by and through Fraunhofer.

In addition, the recordings will be published for follow-up reporting on our media platforms such as LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube or our website. This processing is necessary in particular to document our event and to promote future events.

Data processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. The purposes mentioned are legitimate interests within the meaning of the aforementioned provision.

The recordings are stored for 3 years.

 

c) Registration for the newsletter as part of an event

As part of an event, you have the option of registering to receive our regular newsletter. You can do this either online when registering for the event or directly at the event itself by entering your e-mail address on a form provided for this purpose.

You will then receive a registration notification, which you must confirm in order to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). This serves as proof for us that the registration was actually initiated by you.

We will only send you the newsletter if you have given your express consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR.

You can unsubscribe at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each newsletter. Alternatively, you can also send your unsubscribe request at any time to unsubscribe@ise.fraunhofer.de by e-mail.

Your e-mail address will be deleted immediately after revocation of your consent to receive the newsletter, unless you have consented to further storage in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR or this is necessary for the fulfilment of the contract in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR.

 

d) When registering for a newsletter or other e-mail distribution list

If you have expressly consented in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR, we will use your e-mail address to regularly send you selected information that will inform you about the work at our institute and/or about other Fraunhofer e.V. institutions and/or events. The topics and content of the selected information are determined by the mailing list for which you have registered.

To receive the newsletter, we collect the following mandatory data:

• E-mail address,
• Confirmation of knowledge and acceptance of the data protection guidelines,
• Selection of topics

You can voluntarily provide further information about yourself (first name, surname, title, academic title and company/research organisation/institution). We use this data to address you personally with our newsletter.

After your registration, you will receive a registration notification by e-mail, which you must confirm in order to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). This serves as proof for us that the registration was actually initiated by you.

You can unsubscribe at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each newsletter. Alternatively, you can also send your cancellation request at any time to unsubscribe@ise.fraunhofer.de by email or unsubscribe via the following link: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/newsletter/unsubscribe.html.

Your e-mail address will be deleted immediately after you withdraw your consent to receive the newsletter.

We send our newsletter using the provider mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569, Oederan ("mailingwork"). The email addresses of our newsletter recipients are stored on our behalf on mailingwork's servers in Germany.

mailingwork uses this information to send and analyse the newsletter on our behalf. We have concluded an order processing contract with mailingwork for this purpose. Through this contract, mailingwork ensures that it processes the data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the rights of the data subject.

mailingwork ensures that personal data is comprehensively protected against unauthorised access. mailingwork itself does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them itself or pass the data on to third parties. As a reputable email sender, mailingwork is also certified by the Certified Senders Alliance.

 

e) When registering for our press mailing list

If you have expressly consented in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR, we will use your e-mail address to regularly send you our press newsletter. To receive the press newsletter, we collect the following mandatory information:

• E-mail address,
• Surname,
• First name,
• Category (print, online, radio, TV)
• Language selection
• Assurance of knowledge and acceptance of the data protection guidelines,

You can also voluntarily specify your company and/or your press medium.

We need your name and title in order to address you personally in our press newsletter.

We use your company and/or your press medium and your category details (print, online, radio, TV) to categorise you as a member of the press.

Following your registration, you will receive a registration notification by e-mail, which you must confirm in order to receive the press newsletter (so-called double opt-in). This serves as proof for us that the registration was actually initiated by you.

You can unsubscribe at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each press newsletter. Alternatively, you can fulfil your unsubscribe request yourself using the following link: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/newsletter/unsubscribe-press.html.

Your e-mail address will be deleted immediately after you withdraw your consent to receive the newsletter.

We send our press newsletter via the provider mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569, Oederan ("mailingwork"). The email addresses of our press newsletter recipients are stored on our behalf on mailingwork's servers in Germany. mailingwork uses this information to send and analyse the press newsletters on our behalf. We have concluded an order processing contract with mailingwork for this purpose. Through this contract, mailingwork ensures that it processes the data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of the rights of the data subject.

mailingwork ensures that personal data is comprehensively protected against unauthorised access. mailingwork itself does not use the data of our press newsletter recipients to write to them itself or pass the data on to third parties. As a reputable email sender, mailingwork is also certified by the Certified Senders Alliance.

 

f) When using contact forms

We offer you the opportunity to contact us via a form provided on the website. The following information is mandatory:

• E-mail address
• Message

We need your data to determine who sent the enquiry and to be able to answer and process it.

The data processing is carried out in response to your enquiry and is based on our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR in the context of responding to a contact enquiry.

The personal data collected by us for the use of the contact form will be deleted after your enquiry has been dealt with.

 

3. Forwarding of data

If we pass on personal data that we collect via the website to processors, we will inform you of this in this data protection information for the respective data processing operation, naming the specific recipient.

Otherwise, we will only pass on your personal data if

• you have given your express consent to this in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR;
• this is necessary pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR for the fulfilment of a contract with you (for example, when passing on data to shipping companies for the purpose of delivering the goods you have ordered or when passing on payment data to payment service providers or credit institutions in order to carry out a payment transaction);
• there is a legal obligation for the disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR.

The forwarded data may only be used by the recipients for the stated purposes.

 

4. Web analysis/tracking by LeadLab ( Wiredminds GmbH)

We use the LeadLab service from Wiredminds GmbH and its pixel-code technology on our website to analyse user behaviour and optimise our site based on this. In particular, the service allows us to recognise which companies have visited our site. We do not receive any information that directly identifies you.

In connection with the use of LeadLab, tracking pixels are used to statistically analyse the use of this website by your visits. The information is processed by Wiredminds using a pseudonym in a user profile for the purpose of analysis and anonymised as far as possible.

The data obtained in this way will not be used to identify you personally without your separate consent, nor will the data be merged with personal data about you as the bearer of the pseudonym.

If IP addresses are collected, they are anonymised immediately after collection by deleting the last number block.

Information on data protection at Wiredminds can be found on the company's website.

Data processing is carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR for the purpose of optimising our online offering and our website. Wiredminds processes the data on our behalf on the basis of an order processing contract between us and Wiredminds. This ensures that the data processing on our behalf is carried out in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation while guaranteeing the protection of the rights of the data subjects.

 

5. Social media plugins

We use social media buttons (also known as social media plugins) on our website. These are small buttons that you can use to publish content from our website in social networks under your profile.

If you activate such a button, a connection is established between our website and the social network. In addition to the relevant content, the operator of the social network receives further information, some of which is personal. This includes, for example, the fact that you are currently visiting our site.

The social media buttons are integrated using the so-called Shariff solution. This solution prevents a connection to a social network from being established simply because you access a page with a social media button without activating it. This means that information is only transmitted to the social network when you activate the button.

We use the following social media plugins:

a) Meta Platforms Ireland Limited: Share on Facebook

In some cases, information is transferred to the parent company Meta Platforms Inc. based in the USA, to other Meta companies and to Meta's external partners, each of which may be located outside the European Union. Meta uses standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and relies on the adequacy decisions issued by the European Commission regarding certain countries.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Meta as well as your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy can be found in the Meta's privacy policy.

b) Twitter International Unlimited Company: Share on X

In some cases, information is transferred to the parent company X Corp. based in the USA, to other X companies and to external partners of X, each of which may be located outside the European Union. X uses standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and relies on your consent.

You can find further information on X's data protection in X's privacy policy at https://x.com/privacy.

c) NEW WORK SE (formerly XING SE): Share on XING

In some cases, information is transferred to other NEW WORK companies and to external partners of NEW WORK, each of which may be located outside the European Union. NEW WORK uses standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or other appropriate safeguards in accordance with Art. 46 GDPR and relies on the adequacy decisions issued by the European Commission regarding certain countries and your consent.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by NEW WORK as well as your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy can be found in the privacy policy of XING.

d) LinkedIn Corporation: Share on LinkedIn

In some cases, information is transferred to the parent company LinkedIn Corporation based in the USA, to other LinkedIn companies and to external partners of LinkedIn, each of which may be located outside the European Union. LinkedIn uses standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission for this purpose.

Further information on data protection at LinkedIn can be found in their privacy policy at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

 

6. YouTube

We integrate components (videos) of the video portal "YouTube" of the company Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (hereinafter: "Google") on our website. The implementation is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR, whereby our interest lies in the smooth integration of the videos and the appealing design of our website.

The integration takes place by means of a solution that prevents a connection to Google from being established simply because you call up a page with an implemented video without activating the video. This means that information is only transmitted to Google when you click on the video to watch it.

In some cases, information is transmitted to the parent company Google Inc. based in the USA, to other Google companies and to external partners of Google, each of which may be located outside the European Union. Google uses standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and relies on the adequacy decisions issued by the European Commission regarding certain countries.

Further information on data protection in connection with YouTube can be found in Google's privacy policy.

 

7. Rights of data subjects

You have the right:

• in accordance with Art. 7 para. 3 GDPR, to revoke your consent once given to us at any time. As a result, we may no longer continue the data processing that was based on this consent in the future;
• to request information about your personal data processed by us in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR. In particular, you can request information about the purposes of processing, the category of personal data, the categories of recipients to whom your data has been or will be disclosed, the planned storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing or objection, the existence of a right of appeal, the origin of your data if it was not collected by us, as well as the existence of automated decision-making including profiling and, if applicable, meaningful information on its details;
• in accordance with Art. 16 GDPR, to immediately request the correction of incorrect or incomplete personal data stored by us;
• to demand the erasure of your personal data stored by us in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, unless the processing is necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR, to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data if the accuracy of the data is disputed by you, the processing is unlawful but you refuse to delete it and we no longer need the data, but you need it for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims or you have lodged an objection to the processing in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR;
• in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR, to receive your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to request that it be transmitted to another controller, and
• to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 GDPR. As a rule, you can contact the supervisory authority at your usual place of residence or workplace or at the registered office of our organisation.

 

Information about your right to object in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning you which is based on point (e) of Article 6(1) GDPR (data processing in the public interest) and point (f) of Article 6(1) GDPR (data processing on the basis of a balancing of interests); this also applies to profiling based on this provision in accordance with Article 4(4) GDPR.

If you object, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

If you object to the processing of data for the purpose of direct marketing, we will cease processing immediately. In this case, it is not necessary to specify a particular situation. This also applies to profiling insofar as it is associated with such direct advertising.

If you would like to exercise your right to object, simply send an e-mail to datenschutzkoordination@zv.fraunhofer.de.

 

8. Data security

All data transmitted by you personally is encrypted using the common and secure TLS (Transport Layer Security) standard. TLS is a secure and proven standard that is also used for online banking, for example. You can recognise a secure TLS connection by the s appended to the http (i.e. https://..) in the address bar of your browser or by the lock symbol at the bottom of your browser.

We also use suitable technical and organisational security measures to protect your data against accidental or intentional manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or unauthorised access by third parties. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological developments.

 

9. Up-to-dateness and amendment of this data protection information

It may become necessary to amend this data protection information as a result of the further development of our website and offers on it or due to changes in legal or official requirements. You can access and print out the current data protection information on our website at any time.