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  • News #06 / 2025

    Rewetting More Peatlands with Photovoltaics

    March 17, 2025

    Can photovoltaics on rewetted peatlands reduce land-use conflicts in Germany and make rewetting more attractive for the agricultural sector? Researchers from the Universities of Greifswald and Hohenheim, together with the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, want to answer this question. The ‘MoorPower’ project aims to investigate the general feasibility of photovoltaic systems on peatland areas that will be rewetted at the same time. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing a grant sum of seven million euros for a period of three and a half years.

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  • Press Release #08 / 2025

    Solar module output often overstated

    March 12, 2025

    A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has evaluated over 70,000 power measurements on photovoltaic modules that have been carried out in the institute's calibration laboratory, CalLab PV Modules, since 2012. In the process, the researchers found that since around 2017, the negative discrepancy between the performance data of the PV module manufacturers and the research institute's measurement results has been increasing. Until 2016, more power was measured in the laboratory on average than was promised by the manufacturer. Since then, a negative trend has emerged, particularly in the years 2020 to 2023, leading to an average power reduction of about 1.3 percent. The latest data from 2024 show a slight turnaround.

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  • Press Release #06 / 2025

    How will hydrogen come to Baden-Württemberg?

    March 03, 2025

    Baden-Württemberg will not be able to meet its future demand for hydrogen and its derivatives from domestic production alone. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has therefore investigated how Baden-Württemberg can be supplied by imports in the future. The researchers analyzed how and at what cost hydrogen and its derivatives methanol and am-monia can be imported via pipelines and waterways. Production in Germany was also considered for comparison purposes. European pipeline transportation is therefore the most cost-effective option. The study was funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector.

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  • Proton exchange membranes (PEM) are one of the most promising technologies for the production of green hydrogen by electrolysis. To reduce the material and manufacturing costs for PEM electrolyzers, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is researching scalable production processes. Now, for the first time, it has succeeded in producing ultra-fine porous transport layers made of titanium using a screen printing process, thereby reducing the cost of catalyst materials. Industry-standard, scalable equipment was used. At the Hannover Messe (March 31 to April 4, Hall 13, C41), the institute will present samples of the optimized microporous transport layer, along with other innovations.

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  • The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the University of Auckland in New Zealand have signed an agreement to collaborate on AI-based data analysis. The two research institutes want to establish a long-term cooperation that brings together their complementary expertise. Important fields of application are the quality assurance of battery cells and intelligent battery production. Initial exchanges and the joint supervision of students have already begun.

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Sophia Bächle

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Sophia Bächle

Communications
Photovoltaics

Fraunhofer ISE
Heidenhofstr. 2
79110 Freiburg

Phone +49 761 4588-5215

Claudia Hanisch

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Claudia Hanisch

Communications
Energy Technology and Systems

Fraunhofer ISE
Heidenhofstr. 2
79110 Freiburg

Phone +49 761 4588-5448

Tobias Mickler

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Tobias Mickler

Communications
Heat and Buildings

Fraunhofer ISE
Heidenhofstr. 2
79110 Freiburg

Phone +49 761 4588 2370