Press Releases

German industrial companies are currently suffering from the sharp rise in the cost of fossil fuels and electricity. Such massive price increases are a looming threat to the existence of energy-intensive industries. As a result, saving energy is becoming a key issue for companies. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Ener-gy Systems ISE makes use of its expertise to help companies decrease the ener-gy consumption at their sites, and thus lower costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A key success factor here is Fraunhofer ISE’s holistic consideration of the production processes and energy flows, as a current project with a company from the corrugated cardboard industry shows.

In conjunction with the 4th Turkish-German Energy Forum, Kalyon Güneş Teknolojileri Üretim A.Ş. and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action BMWK in Berlin, Germany. In the MoU both parties reaffirm their intent to cooperate in the field of agrivoltaics as well as in other integrated photovoltaic technologies and PV storage technologies. Over the next three years, Kalyon plans to invest at least nine million US dollars in research contracts and joint research projects with Fraunhofer ISE.

Currently heat pump manufacturers are mainly focusing on cost reductions and sustainable refrigerants. In the project “LC150” (Low Charge 150 g), the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and a consortium of heat pump manufacturers are developing a standardized and refrigerant-reduced propane refrigeration circuit. The team has now succeeded in setting a new efficiency record: A heating capacity of 12.8 kilowatts was achieved with only 124 grams of propane, which results in a specific refrigerant charge of approximately 10 g/kW. Fraunhofer ISE will be showing a refrigeration circuit prototype from the project at the upcoming Chillventa Trade Fair (Oct. 11-13, 2022, Messe Nuremberg).

When producing silicon solar cells, it is important to have a high throughput. This reduces production costs and alleviates supply bottlenecks as more photovoltaics installations are being deployed in Germany and worldwide. Headed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, a consortium of plant manufacturers, metrology companies and research institutions have come up with a proof of concept for an innovative production line with a throughput of 15,000 to 20,000 wafers per hour to respond to this need. This represents double the usual throughput and is due to improvements to several individual process steps. This week’s eighth World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion in Milan, Italy, will see the presentation of detailed results from the research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

Methanol plays an important role for industry as a commodity chemical and is presently considered one of the key energy carriers in the rising hydrogen economy. However, conventional methanol production from coal and natural gas generates large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. With the project "Carbon2Chem®", partners from industry, research and academia have made it their mission to explore processes for producing methanol from industrial waste gases using the steel industry as an example. For the first time, the long-term stability of methanol synthesis from actual, purified blast furnace gas has now been demonstrated in a Fraunhofer ISE miniplant with a production capacity of ten liters per day over a total of more than 5,000 hours. In 2018, thyssenkrupp provided the proof-of-concept for methanol production from blast furnace gas within this project.

Thomas Speidel, CEO of ADS-TEC Energy plc (NASDAQ: ADSE) and managing partner of the ADS-TEC Group; Dr. Thorsten Ochs, chief technology officer of ADS-TEC Energy; and Stefan Reichert, group head "Power Converter Units" at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, have been nominated for the German Future Prize 2022 for the development of the storage-based, ultra-fast charging system, "ChargeBox."

Solar thermal power plants – whether parabolic trough or solar tower – are mostly constructed in desert areas with plenty of sun. In such places, soiling from sand and dust causes high uncertainties in the yield forecast and increased operating costs. In the “AVUSpro” project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, PSE Instruments GmbH, TSK Flagsol Engineering GmbH and Dornier Suntrace GmbH have developed a fully automatic device to measure soiling. The four partners have successfully tested the measurement device in a solar parabolic trough power plant in Kuwait. The collected data can be used to optimize cleaning techniques and cycles to increase yield and minimize costs and water use.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, using a new antireflection coating, have successfully increased the efficiency of the best four-junction solar cell to date from 46.1 to 47.6 percent at a concentration of 665 suns. This is a global milestone, as there is currently no solar cell with a higher efficiency worldwide. The results are presented today at the 2nd International tandemPV Workshop, taking place in Freiburg, Germany.

In order to be able to manufacture more efficient solar modules, the photovoltaic industry is increasingly switching its production to larger wafer formats. Being able to guarantee the production of these solar cells with an edge length of up to 210 millimeters with consistent quality and cycle rate poses new challenges for equipment manufacturers. A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy System ISE has now succeeded in implementing a novel system concept, whereby large-format solar cells are continually processed as they move at high speed under the laser scanner. The new system for solar cell processing can laser half a million contact openings per second and has an effective throughput of over 15,000 solar wafers per hour. Visitors to LASER World of PHOTONICS 2022 (April 26-29, Messe München) can learn more about the system concept at the Fraunhofer booth 441 in Hall A6.

The conversion of renewable power into chemical energy sources through so-called Power-to-X processes is taking on an increasingly important role in Germany’s energy transition. As long-term storable, easy-to-transport, high-capacity energy sources, PtX maximize the potential of renewable energy utilization and enable the complete transformation of all sectors (power/transportation/ agriculture/ buildings). Future PtX plants will be built primarily in remote regions offering high potential for renewable energies, or ultimately offshore. For these chemical processes to be possible under such challenging conditions, innovative synthesis reactors and operating strategies are necessary. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, a universally applicable test stand for kinetic investigations has been developed to analyze catalytic fixed-bed reactions under dynamic operating conditions. The compact, mobile “KISS” system can also be used for technology demonstration on location in remote regions.