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All articles of topic research

This year marks the debut of the ees Innovation Hub at The smarter E Europe.

ees Europe: Innovation Hub makes its debut

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The 2025 event will feature a new space to showcase advancements and for dynamic exchange between scientists, business, trade visitors and influencers.

Research project

Floating solar plant installed on artificial lake

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The “PV2Float” project by RWE, Fraunhofer ISE and BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg is testing three floating PV systems (30 kW each) over three years. The research focuses on technical improvements, environmental impact and public acceptance. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Lithium batteries will be important for many applications in the future.
Varta

Research project for innovative lithium batteries comes to a close

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Varta promises a higher energy density and a longer service life for the newly developed generation of lithium batteries. The batteries should also be more cost-effective and the recycling process simpler. The European Eco2Lib research project was therefore an important breakthrough.

 Litona founder Sebastian Büchele shows a bottle of the energy storage material Prussian white for sodium-ion batteries.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Working towards the sodium-ion battery revolution

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Sodium-ion batteries have several advantages over conventional batteries. They contain no critical raw materials such as lithium or cobalt - and could make stationary energy storage and electromobility much more cost-effective. There is still a lack of the necessary energy storage materials for production.

This is what the sintered solid-state battery cell created at Fraunhofer IPA looks like.
Battery research

Fraunhofer IPA develops production process for solid-state batteries

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In the new production process, the individual powders are sintered, i.e. pressed together under high pressure. This is quick and scalable for industrial processes.

Project partners at the kick-off for the new R&D project BiReMiH2 for the production of biohydrogen.
Renewables research

Biohydrogen from microorganisms?

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Until now, hydrogen has been produced from fossil resources or with the help of electrolysis. But what potential do biogenic residues offer? This is what the BiReMiH2 project of the HY2.ZERO network in southern Germany is investigating.

 Glass and silicon are obtained in high purity.
Recycling

Reiling achieves recycling breakthrough and recovers glass and silicon

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Just under a year after the opening of Reiling's first recycling plant for solar modules, two technological breakthroughs have been achieved. Firstly, the quality of the recovered solar glass has been significantly improved. In addition, the recovery of silicon has been realised on an industrial scale.

 Varta's research centre in Graz has been expanded.
Entise

New research into sodium-ion batteries launched

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A total of 15 universities and companies are involved in the project. The aim is to develop industrially usable and environmentally friendly cells. However, sodium is a tricky element and its use in storage technology is still in its infancy.

Innovative battery technology

Getting sodium-ion batteries using sustainable raw materials to market

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A research project by the ZSW in southern Germany is developing environmentally friendly energy storage systems for both urban transport and stationary applications.

 HDR photoluminescence measuring station: Dr. Genghua Yan was responsible for a large part of the measurements.
Solar cells

Perovskite: New findings on high efficiency

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Free charge carriers in perovskite solar cells are presumably protected from decay in a special way, as researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich have discovered by means of novel photoluminescence measurements.

Smartcalc module software for the digital analysis and optimisation of solar modules.
Fraunhofer ISE

Six per cent more solar yield through better design

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Researchers have achieved a three per cent increase in the yield of photovoltaic modules by making many small improvements to components and the manufacturing process. With larger and divided solar cells in the module, the power density could be increased by a further three per cent.

Organic PV

Organic solar module achieves over 14 per cent efficiency

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The currently most efficient organic solar module was constructed at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies (HI ERN). It achieves a new record efficiency of 14.46 per cent.

The PV module manufacturing and research facility in Inner Mongolia will be expanded to 6 GW in a second phase.
Manufacturing

Inner Mongolia: 4 GW High-efficiency PV module production

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Recently a 4GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module facility, jointly funded by Elion and DAS Solar, started in Inner Mongolia, China.

FuturaSun acquires Solertix

Driving forward scientific research into perovskite technology

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The Italian manufacturer of high-efficiency PV modules, FuturaSun, acquires Solertix, a start-up specialized in perovskite solar cells research and upscaling for industrial applications.

Some plants benefit from the shade provided by solar modules. When it gets dry, almost all crops benefit.
University of Hohenheim

Agriphotovoltaics increases agricultural yields in dry conditions

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A study by the University of Hohenheim has shown that agriculture benefits from shading the soil with solar systems, especially in dry regions. This is because less water evaporates, which the plants need.

In the Agri Food-Energy Park of the Institute of Plant Sciences, scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich are testing new concepts for agri-PV - in future also with printed solar cells.
Printable solar cells

Flexible and multiple uses of existing space

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Researchers not only want to further develop printable solar cells technologically. Rather, they want to provide solutions with them in order to implement different application variants.

The agreement between Tesvolt and the University of Magdeburg is in place.
Research

Tesvolt and the University of Magdeburg sign cooperation agreement

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The manufacturer of commercial storage batteries Tesvolt and the University of Magdeburg want to cooperate on scientific projects in the future. They want to research new approaches to energy storage and further develop battery technologies.

Researchers are exploring possibilities to reuse silicon from old solar panels for new, higher energy-density, batteries technologies for electric vehicles.
PV module recycling and e-mobility

Recycling PV panels for more efficient EV batteries

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Researchers in Belgium are exploring the benefits of silicon in the development of new, higher energy-density, batteries technologies, which would allow electric vehicles to travel further on one charge. Questions and answers from our partner SolarPower Europe.

This is how the facade element looks from behind: A solar fluid runs through the channels, which dissipates the collected solar heat via the main channels on the left and right sides.
Fraunhofer ISE

New development of a solar heat collector for facades

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The structured facade elements collect solar heat and transfer it to the heat pump circuit. In this way, they can raise the flow temperature for heat pumps.

Whether elevated above arable land or as a protective roof for berries and pome fruits: agriphotovoltaics promises a lot of added value for farmers.
New Fraunhofer study

Agriphotovoltaics pays off for farmers - in more ways than one

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In a study, researchers from the IÖW and the HSK in Kehl examined agriphotovoltaics economically, ecologically and legally. There are still hurdles. But above all, the technology offers plenty of opportunities for farmers.

This is what the round cells of type 21700 look like that the ZSW researchers have produced with the new electrodes.
Battery cell development

ZSW detoxifies production of electrodes for battery cells

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Instead of a toxic solvent, ZSW researchers in Germany have used a water-based chemical to produce cathodes with a high nickel content. The batteries produced with this chemical are not only more environmentally friendly, but also last longer.

On the test stand, the researchers extensively measured the entire system consisting of ceramic heat transfer medium and air wall.
Solar thermal power

Fraunhofer ISE develops new concept for solar thermal tower power plants

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To increase the efficiency of concentrating solar thermal power plants, researchers have found a solution to avoid heat loss. They also use a more compact design and a new heat transfer medium.

Bidirectional charging

Two-fold increase in self-sufficiency of households with solar power

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The Bi-Clever pilot project has now shown that the degree of self-sufficiency of solar system owners with e-cars can more than double through bidirectional charging. A stationary battery storage system actually increases the self-sufficiency to 59 per cent.

As part of the PV Hide research project, a brick-red BIPV system was integrated directly into the roof of a historic building.
Fraunhofer ISE

Gymnasium in Eppingen with red BIPV roof

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A gymnasium roof in Eppingen shows how a solar system can discreetly disappear into the building envelope. The BIPV system has 66 kilowatts and produces at least 90 per cent of the electricity generated by a conventional solar power system with uncoated glass.

The coils are installed in the road and the vehicles are charged as they drive over them.
Electric mobility

German consortium of researchers test inductive charging while driving

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Coils in a road that are used to charge electric vehicles while driving full speed: A consortium of researchers and developers from industry wants to bring this technology to series production readiness.