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The European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) was created by the European Commission in order to promote photovoltaic technologies and industries in Europe. Now, the ETIP PV Steering Committee elected a new Chair, as well as two Vice-Chairs for the term 2024 – 2026. Rutger Schlatmann, head of the division Solar Energy at the HZB, and professor at HTW Berlin, was re-elected as the ETIP PV Chair.

About three years ago, the living laboratory at HZB went into operation. Since then, the photovoltaic facade has been generating electricity from sunlight. On September 27, 2024, it reached the milestone of 100 megawatt-hours.

Vortragsreihe vom 8. Mai bis zum 17. Juli 2024

In der Vortragsreihe der FAU und des EnCN diskutieren Expertinnen und Experten gemeinsam zum Thema Photovoltaik – wo geht die Reise hin.

Im Rahmen der The smarter-e Europe/Intersolar Europe 2024 findet eine Vortragssession organisiert von der Allianz BIPV und dem Solarenergieförderverein Bayern e.V. zum Thema "Bauwerkintegrierte Photovoltaik (BIPV)" statt.

Datum: 19. Juni 2024, 16:00 -17:45 Uhr
Ort:       Messe München, Halle A3, Stand A3.150

The HZB researcher Rutger Schlatmann has been elected as the new Chair of the platform ETIP-PV, which brings together representatives of science, industry and politics from all over Europe. We interviewed him about the current boom – and about why the photovoltaics ship has not yet sailed for the EU.

Photovoltaik spielt bei Unternehmen eine immer wichtigere Rolle. Der Bedarf an grünem Strom und grünem Wasserstoff wächst und die eigenen Gebäude und Flächen bieten ein bisher oft sehr unterschätztes Potenzial.

Im Rahmen des 8. RegioTALK des RIK Berlin Südwest zum Thema „Solarenergie made in Berlin – Potenziale und Herausforderungen“ am Donnerstag, 30. März, spricht Moderator Prof. Dr. Frank Schaal in der RegioTALK-Reihe gemeinsam mit den Referent:innen:

Damit die Energiewende gelingt, sind erneuerbare Energiequellen von zentraler Bedeutung. Gerade in der Photovoltaik steckt ein enormes Potential. Strom aus der Fassade, bauwerkintegrierte Photovoltaik, neue Baumaterialien – sind dabei wichtige Themenschwerpunkte.

Solar cells made from metal halide perovskites achieve high efficiencies and their production from liquid inks requires only a small amount of energy. A team led by Prof. Dr. Eva Unger at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is investigating the production process. At the X-ray source BESSY II, the group has analyzed the optimal composition of precursor inks for the production of high-quality FAPbI₃ perovskite thin films by slot-die coating. The solar cells produced with these inks were tested under real life conditions in the field for a year and scaled up to mini-module size.

Die Solarenergienutzung an Gebäuden ist ein zentrales Thema auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität. Solartechnische Systeme sollten selbstverständliche Bestandteile innovativer Gebäudehüllen wie auch Bausteine energetischer Sanierung sein.

The current world record of tandem solar cells consisting of a silicon bottom cell and a perovskite top cell is once again at HZB. The new tandem solar cell converts 32.5 % of the incident solar radiation into electrical energy. The certifying institute European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) in Italy measured the tandem cell and officially confirmed this value which is also included in the NREL chart of solar cell technologies, maintained by the National Renewable Energy Lab, USA.

Three HZB teams led by Prof. Christiane Becker, Prof. Bernd Stannowski and Prof. Steve Albrecht have jointly managed to increase the efficiency of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells fabricated completely at HZB to a new record value of 29.80 %. The value has now been officially certified and is documented in the NREL-charts. This brings the 30 percent mark within reach.

Ein Beitrag über die nachhaltige Energieversorgung durch Solarfassaden

Thanks to new technologies from research, solar power does not cost more than coal-based electricity; but why is the expansion simply not getting off the ground?

Many colleagues are currently working in their home offices, exchanging information by telephone or video conferencing. Nevertheless, we all miss the opportunity to meet other colleagues in the hallway or in the kitchen. That's why we are shifting "kitchen conversations" to the digital. Today we introduce Samira Aden. She is an architect and works in the Consulting office for building-integrated Photovoltaics(BAIP) at HZB.

By 2050, the building stock in Germany must be almost climate-neutral in order to achieve the climate targets - an ambitious goal. Especially in cities with multi-storey buildings, roof areas alone do not offer sufficient space to cover a significant portion of the electricity demand with photovoltaics. There is now a wide range of façade elements that generate photovoltaic electricity. So far, however, such building-integrated PV modules have rarely been installed. The Advisory Centre for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BAIP) at HZB wants to change this:

A team headed by Prof. Steve Albrecht from the HZB will present a new world-record tandem solar cell at EU PVSEC, the world's largest international photovoltaic and solar energy conference and exhibition, in Marseille, France on September 11, 2019. This tandem solar cell combines the semiconducting materials perovskite and CIGS and achieves a certified efficiency of 23.26 per cent. One reason for this success lies in the cell’s intermediate layer of organic molecules: they self-organise to cover even rough semiconductor surfaces. Two patents have been filed for these layers.

Dramatic cost reductions and the rapid expansion of production capacities make photovoltaics one of the most attractive technologies for a global energy turnaround. Not only the electricity sector, but also transport, heating, industry and chemical processes will in future be supplied primarily by solar power, because it is already the cheapest form of electricity generation in large parts of the world. This is where opportunities and challenges lie - at the level of the energy system as well as for research and industry. Leading international photovoltaic researchers from the Global Alliance for Solar Energy Research Institutes describe the cornerstones of future developments in an article published in the journal "Science" on 31 May.

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is opening a national consulting office for integrating photovoltaics into buildings (BAIP) this spring. The consulting office will support building owners, architects, and municipal planners in activating building envelopes for power generation. The project is being funded by the Helmholtz Association over a period of four years as part of its knowledge transfer programme.

A 1 cm² perovskite silicon tandem solar cell achieves an independently certified efficiency of 25.2 %. This was presented this week at an international conference in Hawaii, USA. The cell was developed jointly by HZB, Oxford University and Oxford PV - The Perovskite Company^TM.

The General Meeting of Alliance for Builiding Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has unanimously elected physicist and photovoltaic expert Dr. Björn Rau, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, to the BIPV Management Board.

Perovskite solar technology leader Oxford PV collaborates with leading German research centre to support the accelerated transfer of its technology into silicon cell manufacturing lines.

The Competence Centre Thin-Film- and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics Berlin (PVcomB) is contributing its expertise to improving copper-indium-gallium-sulphide (CIGS) thin-film production in the MyCIGS collaborative research project. CIGS-module manufacturer AVANCIS in Munich is coordinating this project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Oldenburg University) and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) are also partners in the project.

Development of demonstrators measuring up to ten square meters in area planned