Press Releases 2026

By applying a perovskite cell just 500 nanometers thick onto a conventional silicon solar cell, the theoretical efficiency limit increases from 29.4 to 43.3 percent. To pave the way for the industrial implementation of this tandem technology, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE opened a new laboratory today. The “Pero-Si-SCALE” offers an independent R&D infrastructure and is available to the German and European photovoltaic industry. In particular, solar cell and module manufacturers can use it to scale up new cell designs to large cell formats using industry-standard manufacturing processes, analyze them extensively, and integrate them into PV modules.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have succeeded in creating colored films with transparent cutouts, thereby producing realistic-looking designs on photovoltaic modules. In this way, roof tiles, for example, can be imitated. The film cutout patterns utilize MorphoColor® technology, an invention of Fraunhofer ISE that creates a color impression without significantly impairing the efficiency of a PV module. Visitors to The Smarter E / Intersolar 2026 can view PV modules equipped with “ShadeCut” at the Fraunhofer ISE booth A1.440.

Setting up a manufacturing facility or developing new technologies – NEXUS GreenTech, the new spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, supports manufacturers of wafers, solar cells, and PV modules with issues related to product development and factory planning. The founders, Dr. Jochen Rentsch, Dr. Sebastian Nold, and Dr. Nico Wöhrle previously spent many years researching PV technologies, associated production processes, and quality assurance, and all three were most recently part of the PV Technology Transfer unit at Fraunhofer ISE. The spin-off, founded at the end of March, is headquartered in Freiburg, Germany.

Steel production generates large quantities of so-called “furnace gases,” which are rich in hydrogen and carbon oxides. In the Carbon2Chem® project, partners from industry and research are investigating the material utilization of these gases. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE demonstrated the conversion of purified steel mill exhaust gases into methanol in a mini-plant over a period of more than 5,000 hours. Modeling the process in a digital twin of the plant helped researchers optimize it and significantly increase productivity. The simulation platform developed can now also be used for other applications, such as the production of jet fuels.

Charging infrastructure for battery-powered heavy-duty and passenger transport is crucial for a successful transportation transition. The trend here is toward higher charging power and, consequently, higher charging currents and voltages. The collaborative project “HV-MELA-BAT” therefore developed the power electronic converters required for XXL charging, as well as a con-tact system for high currents and voltages. Thanks to a high switching frequency, the isolated DC/DC converter achieves a volumetric power density of 9 kW/l while maintaining a record-breaking efficiency of 99.26 percent. A buffer storage unit was integrated to ensure full charging power even at power-limited grid connection points.

A consortium of scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Smart Battery Solutions GmbH succeeded in replacing the steel connectors used to interconnect battery cells with copper during resistance projection welding. In doing so, the team demonstrated something that had long been considered impossible in the battery industry: Until now, battery manufacturers looking to switch to more powerful, copper-interconnected batteries had to replace their projection welding systems with laser welding systems.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have succeeded in constructing two tandem photovoltaic modules with record efficiencies. A III-V germanium PV module with an efficiency of 34.2 percent, incorporating solar cells from AZUR SPACE and anti-reflection structures from temicon, thus becomes the most efficient solar module in the world. A III-V silicon PV module achieves an efficiency of 31.3 percent, setting a record in its class, and is based on established, cost-effective silicon technology.

To ensure energy security and achieve its climate protection goals, Germany will import large quantities of hydrogen in the future. Dimethyl ether (DME) is an environmentally friendly, non-toxic, efficient, and economically attrac-tive gas that shows great promise as an energy source for hydrogen and its derivatives. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has developed a new, particularly energy-efficient synthesis process for its production, which could become a game changer for DME production and thus for the hydrogen economy. In the international “Power-to-MEDME” project, the entire process chain for large-scale production of methanol and DME in Chile was researched on this basis.

In 2025, the share of renewables in Germany’s net public electricity generation amounted to 55.9 percent, as in the previous year. Wind power took first place as the strongest net electricity producer, followed by photovoltaics, which increased its production by 21 percent in 2025 and overtook lignite for the first time. The share of electricity generation from fossil fuels stagnated in 2025, with the decline in lignite-based electricity generation being offset by rising natural gas consumption. The share of imports in the electricity mix fell in 2025 compared to the previous year. This analysis is based on the energy-charts.info data platform of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, which provides interactive graphs on electricity generation for the whole of Europe.