News 2021

Dr. Peter Schossig, Division Director Thermal Systems and Building Technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, has been appointed as an expert to the Collaboration Programme on Heat Pumping Technologies of the International Energy Agency (HPT IA). He represents Germany as an alternate delegate to the Executive Committee. Heat pumps are one of the key technologies for achieving a net-zero emissions target by 2050, according to the IEA.

The 40th edition of the International Energy Workshop (IEW) will take place from May 25 to 27 2022, in Freiburg, Germany and will be hosted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. The IEW is a leading conference for the international energy modeling community. In a world of environmental and economic constraints, energy modeling is an increasingly important tool for addressing the complexity of energy planning and policy making. The IEW provides a venue for analysts to compare quantitative energy projections, to understand the reasons for diverging views of future energy developments, and to observe new trends in global energy production and consumption.

The SmartCalc.Module software created by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has been thoroughly renewed. A successor to SmartCalc.CTM, the novel software enables photovoltaic module manufacturers to minimize losses and optimize the module.

The Call for Abstracts for the 16th International Renewable Energy Storage (IRES) Conference is now launched. The next IRES, the world's leading science and technology conference on this topic, will take place from September 20-22, 2022. Science and technology experts from academia and industry are invited to submit abstracts on their research in renewable energy storage systems. Relevant scientific papers in policy, finance and law are also welcome. The conference is organized by EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable Energies.

Vehicle-integrated photovoltaics has received increasing interest from science and industry in recent years. From December 6 to 8, 2021, the Netherlands Organization for applied scientific research TNO and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE with the conference organizer Conexio-PSE GmbH are organizing “PVinMotion 2021,” the first international conference dedicated to this topic. The event will be held online over a period of three days. Industry representatives, scientists and interested parties will discuss solutions for the integration of photovoltaics in cars, trucks and other vehicles.

On behalf of KACO new energy GmbH, a team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE investigated under what conditions an inverter with multiple independent DC inputs (multi-maximum power point tracker, Multi-MPPT) is worthwhile. The yield differences between the device types were determined with simulations for different solar system configurations, shading scenarios and locations. In the comparative study, multi-MPPT inverters showed small additional yields depending on the application, but these are reduced by the additional internal conversion stage.

One of the key challenges of perovskite photovoltaics (PV) is the long-term stability. Although efforts have been made to improve the lifetime of perovskite PV devices, their degradation under applied negative voltage (reverse-bias) has been barely addressed. A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, NREL, Solaronix SA and the Materials Research Center of the University of Freiburg has now presented perovskite solar cells with carbon-based electrodes which demonstrate superior resilience against reverse-bias-induced degradation. The main degradation mechanisms are identified to be the iodine loss and excessive heating at voltages below -9 V. The modules successfully endured the hotspot test conditions specified in IEC 61215-2:2016 international standard at an accredited module testing laboratory.

Organic photovoltaics has considerable benefits, such as environmentally friendly production and flexible modules. Yet, to promote market readiness, its efficiency must continue to be increased. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have achieved a certified efficiency value of 13.94 percent for a mini module, which is 9 square centimeters in size and has been created with organic solar cells. That’s a new world record in this category.

In order to integrate photovoltaic (PV) modules onto contoured surfaces such as car roofs or architecturally challenging buildings, curved modules are often necessary. In addition, these applications often have limited space for PV, so that highly efficient modules are recommended. The cooperative research project "3D PV Modules with Contour for Integrated Photovoltaics," funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, addresses these requirements. The four project partners Robert Bürkle GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Netzsch-Gerätebau GmbH and Saint-Gobain Research Germany are working together with the aim to simplify the industrial production of PV modules with 3D contours. Within the project, they are constructing a 3D laminator and developing new methods to measure the performance and detect the defects of curved modules.

Conventional solar tower power plants currently use solar salt as a heat transfer medium, whose maximum achievable temperature lies somewhat below 600 °C. If the operating temperature of the power plant were increased to over 1000 °C, this would lead to a considerable efficiency rise in the conversion of stored heat into electricity and open up a high potential for cost reduction. In the HelioGlow project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is working together with the project partner Kraftblock on the development of ceramic materials for solid-state radiation receivers. These materials show temperature stability up to over 1300 °C and maintain a constant high working temperature even under fluctuating solar irradiation.