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All articles of topic research

© KIT, Markus Breig
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.

© Fraunhofer IPA/Jonas Heldt
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.

© Katja Eichinger, R-Tech GmbH
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.

© Reiling
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 AG
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.

© ZSW
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.

© Research Center Jülich/Limbach
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.

© Fraunhofer ISE
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.

© Kurt Fuchs/HI ERN
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.

© DAS Solar
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
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.

© University of Hohenheim/Alexander Schweiger
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.

© Research Centre Jülich/Christina Kuchendorf
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.

© Jana Dünnhaupt
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.

© Shutterstock
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.

© Fraunhofer ISE
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.

© Fraunhofer ISE
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.

© ZSW
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.

© Fraunhofer ISE
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.

© EON
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.

© Fraunhofer ISE, Sarah de Carvalho
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.

© Electreon Electric Road System
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.

© THI
Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Germany

THI students construct innovative agri-photovoltaic system

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A student project of the THI shows favourable economic viability of a vertical agri-photovoltaic system using bifacial PV modules.

© Fraunhofer ISE
Research project

Doubling the production speed of solar cells

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New manufacturing processes promise higher throughput in the production of solar cells. To this end, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have developed a concept for a completely new production line.

© Longi
China

Longi Central R&D Institute kickstarts operation in Xi’an

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The new Longi Central R&D Institute, which includes a highly efficient monocrystalline solar cell center and a pilot production line of monocrystalline solar cell, primarily provides R&D technical support and patent reserves for the industrialization of the next generation of solar products.