News 2026

Lithium has become an indispensable part of our daily lives, yet its extraction takes a toll on the environment and local livelihoods. This is where the German-Chilean research project “PaNaBat” comes in: a joint networking platform aims to strengthen collaboration in research, education, technology transfer, and industrial cooperation in the areas of sustainable battery raw materials, lithium extraction, and battery recycling. Fraunhofer ISE is contributing its extensive laboratory and research infrastructure for the development of battery materials and cell technologies.

Researchers from the Early-Career Research Group on Optoelectronic Thin-Film Materials at the Institute for Sustainable Technical Systems (INATECH) at the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a new process chain for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells that operates entirely without solvents. The research findings have now been published in the renowned journal Joule.

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.

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.

Splitting hydrogen from water molecules via electrolysis requires energy, which ideally comes from renewable energy sources. Scientists at the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a combined pho-tovoltaic/electrolysis module that efficiently produces hydrogen directly from solar energy. To do this, the water molecule is split using the high photo-voltage of multi-junction solar cells, which in turn are electrically and ther-mally connected to electrolyzer cells. A demonstrator from the research team tested outdoors converted up to 31.3 percent of solar energy into chemical energy, based on the higher heating value of hydrogen.

The European Union aims to reduce its dependence on raw material imports while securing the supply of materials needed for the energy transition. This is where the newly launched European project “M-BAT” comes in: It will develop chemical processes for recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite and carry out pilot projects in Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Fraunhofer ISE is contributing its expertise in the field of direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to the project.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE succeeded in breaking their own module record through an optimized interconnection of the solar cells. Their III-V germanium PV module thus achieves an efficiency of 34.4 percent. The solar cells were developed by AZUR SPACE, while the anti-reflective coatings on the front glass were provided by temicon. Visitors to Intersolar / The Smarter E 2026 can see the world’s most efficient PV module at Fraunhofer ISE’s booth A1.440.

Road freight transport is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions in the German transportation sector; heavy-duty transport accounts for about one-third of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. To enable the transition to battery-electric trucks, the necessary charging infrastructure must be available. In many cases, the power available at the grid connection is insufficient for this purpose. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE conducted a comprehensive feasibility study on behalf of Streck Transportgesellschaft to assess the potential for electrifying an electric truck fleet at the logistics center. According to the study, combining a photovoltaic system, battery storage, and energy management ensures a reliable power supply and represents the most cost-effective solution for logistics centers.

Simply reducing emissions will not be enough to achieve Germany’s goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. It is also necessary to actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere using so-called negative emission technologies (NETs). A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE analyzes the role of NETs in achieving climate goals. According to the study, key factors include a broad mix of different NET technologies, as well as an integrated strategy for the energy system, the ramp-up of NETs, and sustainable biomass use. By 2045, NETs will remove between 39 and 51 million tons of hard-to-avoid CO₂ emissions.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have succeeded in reducing the silver consumption of TOPCon solar cells to 1.1 milligrams per watt peak. Currently, TOPCon solar cells require an average of 10 to 12 milligrams of silver per watt peak. To the reduction, they tested an electroplating-based inline metallization process on pilot systems developed by RENA Technologies GmbH. By combining ultrashort UV laser structuring with the electrochemical deposition of nickel, copper, and silver, the research team produced M10-sized TOPCon solar cells with an efficiency of 24 percent. Compared to PERC solar cells, TOPCon solar cells have higher silver consumption, hence solar cell manufacturers are under particular cost pressure to reduce it.