Workshop Review: Towards a Digital Twin for Emerging Photovoltaics
From June 30 to July 1, 2025, over 25 researchers, students, and industry professionals gathered virtually across two afternoons to explore the current landscape and future directions of digital twin approaches for emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. The workshop provided a platform for exchange across various disciplines and perspectives, spanning from materials science to device simulation and systems engineering. Participants included PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, professors, and representatives from industry. Companies such as JCMwave and Fluxim shared their current simulation approaches and research tools, adding valuable applied insight to the discussion.
The program on Day 1 provided an overview of the Solar TAP initiative, with sessions on morphology formation (Olivier Ronsin, HI ERN), optical simulation (Carsten Rockstuhl, KIT), and photonic modeling using JCMsuite (Sven Burger, JCMwave). These talks emphasized the role of structural and optical modeling in the development of digital twins.
Day 2 focused on device-level modeling using SETFOS (Urs Aeberhard, FLUXiM), energy yield modeling (Seyedamir Orooji, KIT), and the application of machine learning and optimization techniques (Pascal Friederich, KIT).
Together, these sessions illustrated how Solar TAP aims to unify a diverse set of modeling tools—from material morphology to system performance—into a comprehensive digital twin framework for flexible, printed, and emerging PV technologies.
The workshop was coordinated by Marie Louise Schubert (KIT) and Carsten Rockstuhl (Solar TAP PI). It brought together researchers from academia and industry to collectively advance the development of digital twins for next-generation photovoltaic systems.
We thank all speakers and participants for their inspiring contributions and look forward to further collaboration within the Solar TAP community.