Efficient Production of Solar Hydrogen Through Direct Coupling of Concentrating Solar Cells and Electrolyzer

Fraunhofer ISE is seeking investors for a spin-off

01-Jul-2026 - Splitting hydrogen from water molecules via electrolysis requires energy, which ideally comes from renewable energy sources. Scientists at the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a combined pho-tovoltaic/electrolysis module that efficiently produces hydrogen directly ...

International Research Team Unlocks the Power of Passivation for Perovskite Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

11-Sep-2025 - An international research team of photovoltaics scientists has taken a crucial step toward the industrialization of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells. They demonstrated that passivation of the perovskite top cell is possible in combination with textured silicon bottom cells featuring large ...

PERC Solar Cells from 100 Percent Recycled Silicon

10-Feb-2022 - Around ten thousand tons of silicon in discarded photovoltaic modules end up on the recycling market annually in Germany. This figure will rise to several hundred thousand tons per year by 2029. Currently, the aluminum, glass and copper of the discarded modules are reprocessed, however, the ...

New Record Efficiency for Tandem Solar Cell Technology

12-Aug-2020 - In the field of photovoltaics, intensive research is being carried out to continually improve solar cell efficiency. Increasingly, the focus is on tandem photovoltaics, in which high-performance solar cell materials are brought together in various combinations in order to use the solar spectrum ...

Two Records for the Efficiency of Silicon-Based Monolithic Triple-Junction Solar Cells

02-Sep-2019 - Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have once again succeeded in raising the efficiency value of monolithic triple-junction solar cells made of silicon and III-V semiconductor materials. Using a combination of multiple absorber materials, these multi-junction ...

Tandem Solar Cells – Record Efficiency for Silicon-based Multi-junction Solar Cell

09-Jan-2019 - Silicon solar cells dominate the photovoltaic market today but the technology approaches the theoretical maximum efficiency that can be achieved with silicon as the only absorber material. Tandem solar cells, on the other hand, combine several absorber materials, enabling a better energetic use ...

Concentrator Photovoltaics Shows Peak Performance – Module Efficiency Reaches 41.4 %

26-Nov-2018 - Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV) has by far achieved the highest efficiency for the conversion of sunlight into electricity. The basis for this latest achievement lies in the special multi-junction solar cells as well as the perfect interplay between the cell and the module optics. In the ...

New record: Multi-junction solar cell converts one-third of the sunlight into electricity

06-Apr-2018 - Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE together with the company EV Group (EVG) have developed a new silicon-based multi-junction solar cell, which can convert exactly one-third of the incident sunlight into useful electricity. Silicon solar cells dominate the ...

New World Record for Both Sides-Contacted Silicon Solar Cells

25.1 Percent Efficiency with TOPCon Technology

16-Sep-2015 - The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has set a new efficiency record for silicon solar cells. For the first time, an efficiency of 25.1 percent has been measured for a both sides-contacted silicon solar cell. Having a simple rear side contact without any patterning, this type of ...

Solar Cell Contacts From Tubes

Innovative Fine Line Metallization Technology Promises Higher Efficiency Values

20-Oct-2014 - Together with industrial partners Merck, Heraeus and ASYS, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed innovative new materials and contactless techniques for applying ultrafine, homogeneous contact fingers to solar cells. This ‘dispensing’ technology can ...