Press Releases 2023

Cancel
  • Many people want to use the greenest electricity mix available to charge their electric cars, run their heat pumps or smart home appliances. With the infor-mation on the new “PowerSignal" app from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, this is now possible. The app, which shows the current share of renewables in the net public electricity generation for 12 European countries and the day-ahead electricity price for 34 European countries, is now available for Android devices. With this app, the users can adjust their electricity consumption with the renewable share accordingly.

    more info
  • Photovoltaic module manufacturers use modules measured by third parties as a reference when determining the output of individual modules in their production line. To select the right PV modules, developers of PV power plants rely on precise, independent output measurements to inspect the quality of the modules they purchased and to make accurate yield forecastings. For this purpose, the accredited calibration laboratory CalLab PV Modules of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the National Metrology Institute of Germany (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, PTB) regularly compare their measurement results. This allows them to continuously improve their accuracy, ensuring that all stakeholders in the PV industry can rely on their independent measurements. The result of their most recent comparison: Once again, the results they produced were nearly identical, with the respective measured outputs (Pmpp) deviating less than half a percent from each other.

    more info
  • The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set itself the goal of becoming one of the leading global producers of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031. With this aim, the UAE government commissioned the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Integrated Energy Systems (CINES) and the consulting firm GHD Advisory to develop a National Hydrogen Strategy. The strategy, released yesterday at the second Emirates Energy Forum by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI), is a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and obstacles for the future hydrogen economy in the UAE.

    more info
  • The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has developed and suc-cessfully commissioned the world’s first medium-voltage string inverter for large-scale power plants. By feeding power into the medium-voltage grid, the “MS-LeiKra” project team has demonstrated that PV inverters are technically capable of handling higher voltage levels. The benefits for photovoltaics in-clude enormous cost and resource savings for passive components and cables. The device lays the foundation for a new system concept for the next genera-tion of large-scale PV power plants, which can also be applied to wind turbines, electric mobility and industrial applications.

    more info
  • © © AvigatorPhotographer

    Green hydrogen and its derivatives – ammonia, methanol, and synthetic kerosene – store energy from the sun and wind in order to transfer it efficiently from distant regions to Europe. At the same time, many industries that cannot use electricity directly as an energy source will be dependent on these climate-neutral alternatives to fossil gas and oil in the future. On behalf of the H2Global Foundation, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has examined 39 regions in 12 countries preselected by H2Global to determine where the production of such Power-to-X (PtX) products, in conjunction with transport to Germany, would be most cost-effective by 2030. The result: Brazil, Colombia, and Australia offer particularly good conditions for the import of green ammonia, methanol, and kerosene. Imports of gaseous green hydrogen could come from southern Europe or North Africa, provided that pipelines are available in time for transport.

    more info
  • Press Release #24 / 2023

    Solar Cells Integrated into Car Hoods

    August 23, 2023

    In recent years, some car manufacturers have already presented the first vehicle models with photovoltaics integrated into the roof. The roof is the easiest surface to use for on-board solar power generation. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have now gone one step further. As part of two publicly funded research projects, they have integrated solar cells into the standard sheet metal hood of a regular passenger car. Coupled with the research institute’s MorphoColor® technology, the solar-active surface can be color-matched to that of the vehicle. Visitors to IAA MOBILITY can have a closer look at the photovoltaic hood from September 5-11, 2023, at the Fraunhofer booth (Hall B1.D11) in Munich.

    more info
  • Today the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE presented the data on net public electricity generation for the first half of 2023 from the Energy-Charts data platform. Renewable generation, with a share of 57.7 percent of the net electricity generation for public power supply, that is, the electricity mix that comes out of the socket, was significantly higher than the first half of 2022 (51.8 percent). The share of renewable energies in electricity consumption was 55.5 percent. With the first six months of 2023, solar and wind power plants fed a total of 97 terawatt-hours (TWh) into the public grid, compared to 99 TWh in the first half of 2022. The electricity production from lignite was down 21 percent, hard coal was down 23 percent, natural gas was down 4 percent, and nuclear declined by 57 percent, compared to 2022 values.

    more info
  • Heat pumps are a key technology in the heat transition, but many of the devices still use environmentally harmful refrigerants. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has now developed a functional model of a refrigeration circuit using propane, a climate-friendly and cost-effective refrigerant alternative. One of the best results was a brine heat pump, achieving a heating capacity of 11.4 kilowatts with only 146 grams of propane. At this low refrigerant charge, it is permitted to install the unit inside buildings without undergoing extensive safety precautions. Per kilowatt of heat output, the unit requires only about one-fifth the amount of propane compared to the systems on the market. The new development is the result of a collaboration between Fraunhofer ISE and an industrial consortium within the "LC150" (Low Charge 150 g) project, which has just ended and was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. A related, recently started project called "LCR290" (Low Charge R290) will focus on the development of low-charge propane, or R290, heat pumps for multi-family houses.

    more info
  • To pave the way for the industrial implementation of highly efficient perovskite-silicon PV modules, the tandem solar cells and modules must be reliably measured. Only then is it possible to make objective comparisons between different cells and modules and to make technological improvements. In contrast to conventional silicon PV modules, however, the calibration is considerably more challenging. A project consortium led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is therefore developing methods for characterizing perovskite-based tandem modules in the "Katana" project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate BMWK. The solar simulator specially built for this purpose by the company Wavelabs Solar Metrology Systems GmbH is now in use in the CalLab PV Modules of the research institute.

    more info
  • Press Release #20 / 2023

    Safe PV Systems: Fraunhofer ISE Tests Arc Fault Detectors

    May 15, 2023

    The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has developed a unique modular test stand for photovoltaic inverters with integrated arc fault detection. These integrated warning systems in inverters increase the safety of solar installations by initiating an automatic shut down in the event of arcing. With the newly published international standard IEC 63027, more reliable and realistic tests can be carried out on detectors. Fraunhofer ISE was involved in the development of the new test standard, which was published on May 3 2023.

    more info