Heat Pumps – A Key Technology for the Energy Transition
Heat pumps will be the dominant heating technology in the future energy system. Scientific studies have shown they will play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. Today heat pumps are used in numerous types of buildings.
Tandem Photovoltaics –The Road to Higher Conversion Efficiencies
Our research aim is to increase the energy conversion efficiency of photovoltaics and bring down the costs. Tandem photovoltaics holds great promise for achieving these goals and is among the fastest-developing solar technologies today. The high efficiency of tandem solar cells allows for more energy output per surface area, thus creating potential savings in solar cell and module materials – an important aspect in regard to the sustainability of photovoltaics.
Integrated Photovoltaics – Areas for the Energy Transformation
Integrating PV technology into building envelopes, vehicles and roads, as well as over agricultural fields and floating on water surfaces, capitalizes on surface areas with a tremendous potential for generating solar power. In Germany, building-integrated solar technologies and agrophotovoltaics alone offer a combined technical potential of several hundred gigawatts of power. Integrated PV also creates synergies with other aspects, for instance by increasing the range of electric vehicles or improving noise protection on roads and railways. Generating solar power close to the consumer or directly onboard vehicles also reduces reliance on the power grid.
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
