Germany’s Federal Energy Research Report highlights Solar TAP as a successful model for technology transfer in photovoltaics.
The Helmholtz Innovation Platform Solar TAP has been featured as a success story in the German government’s Federal Energy Research Report 2026, with an entire page dedicated to its activities and achievements.
Under the heading “Photovoltaic research as a successful model for technology transfer,” the report highlights Solar TAP’s role in connecting research and industry and accelerating the transfer of emerging photovoltaic technologies into practical applications.
Connecting research and industry
Solar TAP brings together the expertise of Forschungszentrum Jülich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
The platform focuses on printed photovoltaic technologies based on perovskites and organic semiconductors, with potential applications in agrivoltaics, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and mobile PV.
By providing access to research infrastructure and facilitating industry collaborations, Solar TAP helps bridge the gap between scientific innovation and industrial implementation.
From innovative materials to industrial applications
The report highlights Solar TAP’s growing industry network, comprising more than 50 companies across the photovoltaic value chain, and over 40 cooperation and technology transfer projects initiated to date.
50+
Companies in the industry network
40+
Cooperation and transfer projects initiated
3
Helmholtz research institutions
One example is the Solar Factory of the Future at Forschungszentrum Jülich, where researchers collaborate with industry partners on scaling technologies for printed solar modules.
The report also acknowledges Solar TAP’s successful evaluation in September 2025, confirming the value of its cross-institutional approach to technology transfer.
Recognition and motivation for the future
The inclusion of Solar TAP in the Federal Energy Research Report 2026 underscores the importance of connecting scientific excellence with industrial innovation.
It also demonstrates the potential of close collaboration between research institutions and companies to accelerate the development of emerging photovoltaic technologies and bring innovative solutions closer to market readiness.
For Solar TAP, this recognition is both an acknowledgement of the progress achieved so far and a motivation to further strengthen its industry network, initiate new collaborations and support the industrial scale-up of next-generation photovoltaic technologies.
About the Federal Energy Research Report 2026
The Federal Energy Research Report is published by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). It provides an overview of Germany’s energy research activities, funding priorities and progress in developing innovative energy technologies.
Solar TAP is featured on page 59, in the chapter “Institutional Energy Research,” under the heading “Photovoltaic research as a successful model for technology transfer.”
Emerging Photovoltaics Across the Report
In addition to the dedicated Solar TAP success story on page 59, the Federal Energy Research Report 2026 features further examples of research and innovation in emerging photovoltaics.
These include flexible organic photovoltaic modules developed by Solar TAP network partner ASCA GmbH & Co. KG (page 29), testing infrastructure for emerging PV technologies at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (page 57), and AI-assisted materials discovery at Helmholtz-Institut Erlangen-Nürnberg für Erneuerbare Energien (page 58).
Together, these examples illustrate the breadth of activities advancing next-generation photovoltaics, from materials research and technology testing to practical applications and industrial technology transfer.
Read the Federal Energy Research Report 2026 (PDF) here.