Tag Archive for: Photovoltaics

Copyright: Ralf-Uwe Limbach / Karen Forberich / Stefanie Ditze

Photovoltaics meets agriculture

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Agri-PV systems in the focus of the 3rd Solar TAP Industry

Düren/Jülich, 10 – 11 April 2024 – Within the Solar TAP innovation platform (short for “Solar Technology Acceleration Platform for emerging Photovoltaics”), industry and science work hand in hand to rapidly develop new photovoltaic technologies to market maturity. The platform’s third industry day focussed on the integration of photovoltaics in agriculture, also known as Agri-PV. This ground-breaking technology promises to revolutionise the efficiency of agriculture and at the same time pave the way for sustainable energy.

Agri-PV: How the production of solar power and plants can succeed side by side

Lightweight, flexible and customisable: Printed innovative photovoltaic technologies (so-called “emerging photovoltaics”) offer more than just the generation of sustainable energy. One example of an application with multiple benefits is agri-photovoltaics (agri-PV for short), which offers enormous potential for Germany’s energy transition. Prof. Ulrich Schurr, Director of the Institute of Plant Sciences at the Jülich Research Centre (IBG-2), highlighted the global status in his keynote speech and thus set the focus of the “3rd Solar TAP Industry Day”. Dr Matthias Meier-Grüll (IBG-2) added an overview of the Agri-PV demonstration projects at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Read the complete article here (German)

2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023

2. Solar TAP Industry Day

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The 2nd Solar TAP Industry Day in Berlin on November 10, 2023, gathered over 65 industry experts and researchers to discuss the advancement of multi-benefit photovoltaic technologies.

The event focused on the collaborative efforts between industry and science to accelerate the market readiness of innovative, lightweight, and flexible photovoltaics.

2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023
2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023
2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023
2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023
2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023
2. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin on 10.11.2023

Participants engaged in a structured roadmapping process to refine application profiles for key sectors such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), agriculture, and transportation. Laboratory tours at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin provided insights into cutting-edge research infrastructure supporting these developments.

The event underscored the significant potential of multi-benefit PV in expanding renewable energy applications.

Event Details:

  • Date: 10.11.2023
  • Time: 08:30 am – 05:00 pm
  • Location: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin / BESSY II Lecture Hall, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, D-12489 Berlin

Agenda:
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The integration of novel PV-technologies will focus on various application cases with high potential. Agri-Horti-PV application development will build on the Agri-Horti-PV test site (Agri-Food-Energy Park -- Agri FEe) established by FZJ: Plant Sciences at Alt-Morschenich in the context of BioökonomieREVIER (a large-scale regional transformation of the lignite-mining region Rheinisches Revier into a model region for sustainable bioeconomy ).Christina Kuchendorf

Fast and flexible solar energy from the printer

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Lighter, more flexible and adaptable – the innovation platform Solar TAP develops innovative solutions for photovoltaic applications. The aim is to make surfaces already used in agriculture, the building sector and transport additionally usable for the expansion of solar energy with printed solar cells.

Renewable energies are essential for the success of the energy transition and the desired independence from the import of fossil fuels. Their expansion must therefore be driven forward swiftly and massively. Photovoltaics (PV) – energy from the sun – is an important pillar in this respect. Of all renewable energies, PV has the lowest environmental footprint, i.e. it generates significantly more energy than is needed for its production.

Even though we need to add around 330 Gigawatt in Germany by 2040, this expansion does not automatically mean building new large-scale solar parks: thanks to flexible and efficient PV systems that utilize surfaces in agriculture or in the building sector to generate additional electricity from the sun. The potential for this is great: agricultural land in Germany offers the technical possibility to contribute up to 3 Terawatt (short for terawatt peak) to electricity generation. Solar cells integrated into existing facades could generate up to 1 Terawatt of solar power – for example, to supply electric cars with decentralized and mobile electricity in the future. But so far, just less than 0.1 percent of facade surfaces are used for PV.

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1. Solar TAP Industry Day at the Energy Campus Nuremberg on 21.07.2023HI ERN/Kurt Fuchs

From research to application

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Helmholtz funds three new innovation platforms with 40 million euros.


Our world is characterised by change and transformation. From energy to mobility, health to climate, new challenges are constantly emerging. Researchers in the Helmholtz Association are working on solutions that address these challenges. To transfer research results into practical applications for the benefit of science, society and industry, Helmholtz is funding three new innovation platforms. Together with external partners, concrete innovations can now be developed quickly and flexibly – in the fields of accelerator technologies, photovoltaics and maritime economy.

At the Helmholtz Centres, scientists work on unique, high-performance research infrastructures in relevant fields. The knowledge generated at these infrastructures forms the basis for innovations and new technological developments for industry. Equally, this research data helps us understand and shape our environment. Facilitating direct access to this knowledge via new, faster cooperation models is an important task, and one that Helmholtz takes seriously. Innovation platforms represent a suitable instrument for this exchange, creating access to ideas and exciting infrastructures, thereby facilitating the exchange between research centres and external interested parties. Helmholtz is now funding three new innovation platforms to create new structures and opportunities for technology transfer and the shared use of large-scale equipment, research infrastructures and data.

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