Press / Newsroom

Organic solar modules score points for their flexibility, transparency, and a particularly good environmental footprint. Wavelength-dependent transparency, in particular, is a major strength of organic photovoltaics. Researchers at the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have now succeeded in building 14.5 by 14.5- centimeter organic PV modules with an average transparency of 43.2 percent and an efficiency of up to 9.26 percent. To achieve this, they used a combination of sputtering and slot-die coating – both processes that are industrially proven and highly scalable to large module areas.

The American company Source Energy and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have jointly developed a new product line for space satellites based on silicon solar cells. The solar arrays are using a special interconnection technology. Combined with inexpensive silicon solar cells, this enables modules at much lower costs compared to standard III-V technology that currently dominates the space sector. The automated production process, utilizing the M10 Solar Equipment GmbH’s Shingle-Matrix Stringer, allows Source Energy to delivery their products in less than six months from the time of order.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) in Shimla, India. The goal is to collaborate on research projects in the field of renewable energy, to facilitate the joint supervision of master’s and PhD students and to offer exchange programs. The collaboration will focus in particular on research into floating photovoltaic systems as well as agrivoltaics.

Heat pumps can replace existing gas and oil heating systems in multi-family houses when the entire system is designed to match the building. This is the core finding of the "LC R290" research project, in which the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE worked with a consortium of twenty companies from the heating industry and housing sector to develop typical solution concepts for heating system replacement. The project team used the refrigerant propane (R290) for this purpose.

At the “From Lab to Market Challenge” event held in Leverkusen at the end of June, the “ESILIB” team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE took second place. The researchers are developing anode materials for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries, focusing on a silicon-carbon composite that is sustainable and can increase the range of electric vehicles by up to 40 percent.