After the institute director Prof. Dr. Hans-Martin Henning, who co-led the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE together with Prof. Dr. Andreas Bett as a dual leadership, retired, Andreas Bett will continue to lead the institute alone. Dr. Elias Frei has been appointed as deputy institute director.

Elias Frei joined Fraunhofer ISE a year ago as Head of the "Hydrogen Technologies" division. Previously, he held leading positions at BASF SE, where, in addition to hydrogen-related topics, he was also responsible for other research lines and sustainable technologies such as innovative utilization concepts for CO₂. After studying chemistry at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Elias Frei earned his doctorate in 2013 in the field of Inorganic Chemistry on the synthesis and characterization of heterogeneous catalysts for methanol synthesis. Afterwards, he worked until 2020 in the Inorganic Chemistry Department of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, where, as head of synthesis laboratories and group leader for nanostructures, he fundamentally investigated scientific questions regarding molecular activation.

“I am looking forward to collaborating closer with Dr. Elias Frei in future as Deputy Director of the institute. His experience in research and development, as well as in strategic business development in the industry, is very valuable to us,” explains Institute Director Prof. Dr. Andreas Bett.