Research Projects from the Annual Report

Project in the Business Area: Photovoltaics, Photovoltaic Modules and Power Plants, Topic: Module Technology, Integrated Photovoltaics, Duration: 04/2020 - 03/2024

Innovative manufacturing technologies, e.g. for large-area displays, enable the cost-effective production of units consisting of thousands of interconnected semiconductor devices by miniaturization, additive manufacturing, parallelization and self-alignment. The objective of the "micro-CPV" joint project is to develop a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module based on these technologies. This shall enable high PV performance while at the same time exploiting cost reduction potentials in production. | Duration: 04/2020 - 12/2024

Project in the Business Area Energy-Efficient Buildings; Topics: Building Operation Management, Heat Pump, Duration: 03/2021 - 04/2025

Heat pumps are an effective solution for reducing energy consumption and the environmental impact of buildings, and for introducing renewable energy into the heat supply. However, the actual efficiency of heat pumps in practice does not always meet expectations. In addition to high occurring heat losses, the energy efficiency is reduced by an inappropriate system design, by misparameterization of the heat pump control and by undetected operating deficits. Therefore, the subject of the "AI4HP" project is the development of a new generation of "intelligent heat pumps", which adaptively adjust to changing boundary conditions with the help of artificial neural networks and thus increase energy efficiency while maintaining user comfort. | Duration: 09/2021 - 08/2024

Project in the Business Area: Hydrogen Technologies and Electrical Energy Storage; Topic: Battery Engineering, Applied Storage Systems; Duration: 08/2022 - 07/2025

The agricultural sector is facing new challenges. In the wake of climate change, strategies must be developed to avoid negative impacts on harvests. Orcharding in Germany is already affected by the consequences of climate change: rising temperatures, changes in precipitation distribution and increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as hail and heavy rain. As a result, commercial fruit growers are increasingly using hail protection nets and foil roofing to prevent quality and yield losses. The project "APV-Obstbau" (Agrivoltaic Orcharding) will investigate to what extent agrivoltaics can replace these protective measures in apple cultivation, which system design makes sense for this crop and in which way the agrivoltaic system affects crop yields. | Duration: 04/2020 - 03/2025

Lithium-ion batteries used as energy storage are a key element of the energy transition. This type of battery is being used in ever greater numbers, especially in electromobility. At the end of their life in the vehicle, the batteries can continue to be used in stationary storage before being recycled. Even though this significantly minimizes the CO2 footprint and makes the recycling economy more effective, many new questions arise, e.g. about the qualification of the cells, cooling and the integration of stationary storage into the infrastructure. These issues are being investigated in detail in the ecoLEPuS project. | Duration: 09/2022 - 05/2026

Project in the Business Area: Hydrogen Technologies and Electrical Energy Storage; Topic: Battery Cell Technology; Duration: 01/2022 - 12/2024

Project in the Business Area: Solar Thermal Power Plants and Industrial Processes Topic: Solar Thermal Power Plants Duration: 04/2022 - 03/2025

Project in the Business Area: Energy-Efficient Buildings, Solar Thermal Power Plants and Industrial , Topics: TThermal Storage for Buildings, Thermal Storage for Power Plants and Industry, Duration: 05/2021 - 04/2026