Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

Research Projects from the Annual Report

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  • Joint Project: FernWP

    District and Process Heat Supply by Heat Pumps As a Substitute for Coal Combustion; Subproject: Planning, Construction and Operation of a GWP Test Plant

    © Fraunhofer ISE

    Prototype of a high-temperature butane heat pump.

    With the phase-out of coal-fired power generation, not only will large amounts of power generation capacity be lost, but also gigawatts of thermal capacity in district heating networks that will have to be replaced by low-CO2 alternatives. Large-scale heat pumps at former power plant sites that feed heat into existing district or local heating networks are a promising alternative to decentralized solutions, especially in densely built-up urban areas. The project aims to reduce the barriers to the timely integration of large-scale heat pumps into district heating systems, both from a technical and an economic point of view. | Duration: 10/2021 - 09/2025

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  • ecoLEPuS – Second Life Batteries for Use in High-Performance Applications Using the Example of Buffer Storage in Charging Infrastructure

    Planned location of the battery storage system with fast charging station at the ISE site "Haidhaus"
    © Fraunhofer ISE

    Planned location of the battery storage system with fast charging station at the ISE site "Haidhaus".

    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

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  • DIAMOND – Perovskite photovoltaics with minimized ecological footprint

    DIAMOND
    © Fraunhofer ISE

    Schematic structure of a perovskite solar cell with a graphite electrode deposited by means of doctor blade coating.

    To mitigate climate change, decarbonization of the energy sector is a key challenge. Photovoltaics plays a crucial role in the widespread introduction of a clean and affordable energy infrastructure. Due to the predominance of imports from outside the EU and the need for energy-intensive purification of raw materials, established photovoltaic modules are associated with supply risks and a high carbon footprint. Emerging perovskite PV has enormous potential to overcome these problems and revolutionize the EU energy sector. | Duration: 12/2022 – 11/2025

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  • micro-CPV – Development of a Highly Concentrating CPV Module Based on Modern Micro-Production Technology

    micro-CPV demonstrator module mounted on the tracking unit of the CPV test stand at Fraunhofer ISE. The aperture area of the 10x6 cell-lens unit arrangement is 205 cm².
    © Fraunhofer ISE/Elisa Kaiser

    micro-CPV demonstrator module mounted on the tracking unit of the CPV test stand at Fraunhofer ISE. The aperture area of the 10x6 cell-lens unit arrangement is 205 cm².

    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

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