IEA PVPS Task 13 focuses on strengthening international collaboration to improve the reliability and performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The Task collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on the technical performance, degradation, and failure modes of PV systems, providing a foundation for their technical assessment and developing practical recommendations to enhance system performance and longevity. The Swiss consortium - comprising SUPSI, CSEM, BFH, OST, and ZHAW - contributes by sharing the latest results from Swiss R&D projects and integrating national expertise into the international dialogue. The dissemination activities aim industry, utilities, and policymakers to remain aligned with international best practices, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of Swiss PV technologies in global market.

SunFace Generator promotes the conversion of facades into photovoltaic power plants using AI, automating layout, quotes, wiring, and production estimates via a SaaS platform. It targets a rapidly expanding market and is aimed at both professionals and individuals.

Perovskite photovoltaics are nearing commercialization but need durable solutions. We develop graphene-based contacts for stable, scalable modules and extend this platform to energy storage and printed electronics, creating new market opportunities.

In building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), coloring techniques like sputter coating or ceramic pigment printing enhance solar panel aesthetics, but have many limitations. OptiChromi solves these limits by inkjet-printing photonic structures for customizable, colorful and energy efficient PV panels

The EU-funded SOLARIS project aims at supporting the efficient and sustainable deployment of photovoltaics (PV) as a central pillar of the European energy system. It will combine PV market and technology development scenarios with data on supply chains, resource requirements and end-of-life management to achieve a better understanding of the environmental impacts, criticality and circularity linked to future PV. Opportunities for improving PV sustainability and European resilience will be highlighted, and recommendations on policy measures will be provided. SOLARIS will also develop a database and decision-making tool enabling the PV industry, policy and broader audience to compare different future scenarios (e.g. PV processes, materials, cell technologies, production locations) in terms of their environmental impact and supply resilience.

Layered (2D) hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskites have emerged as promising semiconductors in optoelectronics. These materials consist of halide perovskite slabs templating organic moieties, offering unique optoelectronic properties and the ability to self-assemble into well-organized structures via solution-processing or mechanosynthesis of powders. Despite their potential for applications in optoelectronics, such as solar-to-electric energy conversion in photovoltaics and systems for neuromorphic computing, their performance is inferior to that of 3D perovskite analogues. This is mainly due to the electronically insulating nature of organic moieties, which impedes charge transport in functional devices. However, the tunability and self-assembly of these hybrid materials present opportunities to enhance their optoelectronic properties and establish a novel platform for templating functional photochemical transformations.This project aims to utilize layered (2D) perovskites as hybrid organic-inorganic scaffolds for templating photochemical transformations within the organic spacer layer, enhancing their optoelectronic properties and expanding their applications in modern optoelectronics. Specifically, the focus will be on integrating light-responsive polyaromatic molecular systems into the hybrid 2D perovskite framework that are capable of photopolymerization, photocyclization, or photoisomerization upon light irradiation, enabling photochemical transformations that are otherwise challenging or inaccessible in the solid state. As a result, the photoinduced transformations will not only improve the charge transport through the organic layer, thereby enhancing the optoelectronic characteristics of the hybrid materials, but also enable the development of multi-state switching in memory elements for neuromorphic computing.This will be accomplished through the complementary expertise of three research partners, namely the IChO PAS in Poland (synthesis of polyaromatic compounds and their applications, such as in singlet fission), HUN-REN TTK in Hungary (synthesis and characterization of light-responsive molecular systems), and EPFL/AMI in Switzerland (fabrication and characterization of hybrid perovskite materials and devices, complemented with photochemical characterization). Our approach will integrate various techniques, encompassing molecular and material synthesis, comprehensive characterization, and device application. This innovative approach will introduce novel concepts for templating photoinduced transformations in hybrid materials, unlocking new functionalities to propel advancements in modern optoelectronics.

SolarGuard is a 3-year project targeting innovation in the field of photovoltaic (PV). Its overarching objective is to develop the materials and the processes for the mass-manufacturing of heterojunction (HJT) and TOPCon solar cells and modules whose degradation rate under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is as low as 0.2%/year. In contrast to competitors, which use work-around solutions implemented at module level to mitigate UV-induced degradation (UVID), such as UV blockers or down-converting foils, SolarGuard will directly seek at developing UV-unsensitive HJT and TOPCon solar cells, hence rendering the need for UV protection at module level moot. SolarGuard’s PV modules will thus offer a substantial power gain of 1.5% at module level, owing to the removal of UV-blocking materials in the module bill-of-materials. This results in appreciable savings for PV manufacturers, namely 0.4$cts/W lower cost of goods sold (COGS) for a 5-GW PV production line. In addition, SolarGuard’s low degradation rates allow to considerably boost the energy yield of PV systems along their operational lifetime. Consequently, SolarGuard’s PV modules will enable a 30% (resp. 35%) lower levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) for a 10 kWp rooftop installation (resp. a 10 MW alpine PV plant) over 40 years of operational exploitation.To reach this ambitious goal, the original approach of SolarGuard is to proceed to extremely harsh UV irradiation, with acceleration factors up to 1,000x compared to AM1.5G solar spectrum, to quickly identify and down-select the most UV-resilient materials for HJT and TOPCon devices. Dedicated opto-electrical and microstructural analysis will be conducted to unveil the root causes of UVID and to support the development of UV-resilient materials. Regarding materials for HJT devices, the novelty brought by SolarGuard lies in the use of hydrogen doping for transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), enabling UV-resilience while relaxing the tradeoff between optical transparency and electrical conductivity. For TOPCon solar cells, compact, sputtered polySi layers as well as plasma oxides will be used to obtain UV resilience. Besides, an additional high risk/high reward approach, relevant to both HJT and TOPCon, will be investigated in SolarGuard, namely the development of alternative transparent conductive materials based on nitrides instead of oxides, especially gallium nitrides. With such transparent conductive nitrides (TCNs), SolarGuard aims at reaching a total unsensitivity to UV photons.Among renewables, PV is poised to be the key pillar to propel humanity toward a low carbon energy system. However, with the global PV market turning 2023 in an overcapacity situation, technological edges enabling performance boosts or cost advantages are eagerly sought for by PV manufacturers. With pilot series production expected in 2030, SolarGuard’s PV modules will provide both superior performance and reduced manufacturing and exploitation costs, and are therefore perfectly suited to tackle this challenging situation.

This project involves optimizing the infrastructure of the existing DC rail network on the BVB (Bex-Villars-Bretaye) line to enable greater energy efficiency and optimum use of new energy carriers. The project will explore several possible solutions: PV installations, battery storage, the use of existing bi-directional converters, and the evaluation of algorithms and hardware to control, manage and guarantee the structural safety of the rail power network.

We develop a forecasting engine for PV production and load, leveraging advanced algorithms with comprehensive data. The engine significantly increases forecast accuracy, drastically reducing the costs of ancillary services for DSOs. These costs surge due to rapid PV growth and weather volatility.

This innovation project aims to develop an AI-powered software solution that enables the automated layout planning of optimal solar systems. The solution uses multidimensional building data in combination with high-resolution imagery.

Perovskite photovoltaics offer a low-cost, high-efficiency solution to speed up the transition to net-zero emissions. In particular, tin-lead perovskite solar cells have ideal optical properties for peak performance. However, their large-scale use is hampered by stability issues at perovskite surfaces, i.e. oxidation, vulnerable defects, and chemical mismatch with ordinary charge transport layers in solar cells. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are alternative transport layers that allow the manipulation of critical interface regions, yet their use in tin-lead perovskite photovoltaics remains in its infancy. Careful choice of SAM functional groups, molecular structure and redox chemistry are key to tackle perovskite limitations. SAMper will develop ultrastable and highly efficient tin-lead perovskite solar cells by designing SAM device architectures with interface-specific smart functionality. Defect-passivating, perovskite-healing and oxidant scavenging SAM moieties will afford the targeted properties, as will be demonstrated via structural, chemical and electrical interface analysis. Top SAM-based devices will be tested outdoors to demonstrate their excellent durability and efficiency, comprising the first example of tin-lead perovskite solar cell testing under real-world conditions and paving the way towards their commercial deployment. SAMper contributes towards clean energy in alignment with European Green Deal decarbonisation targets. The project will further the researcher's excellence and career prospects via training on cutting-edge multidisciplinary research. Knowledge transfer with the supervisor will foster the researcher's scientific independence via key management skills. The secondment for outdoor tests will facilitate international synergies. Project outputs and datasets will adhere to FAIR principles, aiding the benchmarking of the technologies herein. Various activities will disseminate these results, and foster STEM vocations among local youth.

A test stand is to be developed from an existing proof of concept for measuring the luminance of PV modules using a foto camera. Compared to existing solutions for determining luminance using the bid- irectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), the test stand has three main advantages: Firstly, the measurements can be made in the laboratory and outdoors (on a built installation); sec-ondly, the test equipment is inexpensive; and thirdly, very shallow angles (up to approx. 88°) can also be meas- ured. The test stand consists of a profile spotlight, a photo camera with RAW data ex-port option, a mechanical module holder and software based on Matlab or Python, which is yet to be developed in this project. This test bench is used to measure a reduced form of the BRDF.

The main goal of the Subtask A is to explore the role and the potential of BIPV in the context of sustainable buildings and low-carbon construction. The Activity A1 aims to identify and compare the current and potential market share of BIPV in different countries. The analysis gives special attention to the following aspects: (1) A comparison and benchmark of the building materials (on roofs and facades) and their compatibility to be replaced with BIPV standardized BIPV product families, in particular in the context of building retrofit. (2) The adoption of a uniform and common methodology for the definition and calculation of BIPV potential and opportunities. The work will initially consist of identifying best practices and approaches for conducting this BIPV potential analysis and, on this basis, identifying the status and potential of the BIPV market in different countries. This project is about the contribution of HES-SO (HEPIA) to the activities A1 "BIPV market: status, potential and opportunities", A2 "BIPV in the energy / environmental labelling" and A3 "BIPV in our society". This contributions are backed-up through several collaborative research projects (Interreg France-Switzerland, HES-SO, IEA Task 63, SIG Fonds Vitale, Research Council of Norway via NTNU).

The project evaluates the profitability of photovoltaic systems on green roofs in Switzerland. The costs of green roofs and the additional costs for the photovoltaic system are taken into account.

Photovoltaics (PV) plays the key role for the transition of our energy supply system to a sustainable low-CO2 economy. Especially due to transformation losses and high costs for storage, PV-generated electricity must be as economic and scalable as possible with the lowest use of resources and energy during fabrication. Perovskite solar cells as a promising young research field have the largest potential to meet those criteria. However, challenges in the stability and reproducibility hinder a fast commercialization. These issues are accompanied by a lack of control and understanding on how nanoscale features of the employed materials correlate with the performance metrics of solar cells.This research project aims for establishing a strong link between nano and device scale. The overall objective is to develop a characterization toolbox by scaling macroscopic optoelectronic characterizations to the micro and nano scale. Specific aims address the role of material inhomogeneities on the nanoscale such as grain boundaries and interfaces between layers. Physical parameters related to charge transport and recombination will be extracted. Furthermore, the first steps of degradation upon exposure to heat and light will be investigated.To achieve these goals, a nanoscale methodology will be developed based on a combined experimental and simulation approach. Experiments are performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) including various modes such as conductive AFM and KPFM combined with colocalized confocal optical microscopy. These available techniques will be further developed to record local current-voltage, impedance, and transient optoelectronic signals. These data will be compared with a three-dimensional device simulation that is to be developed. The model contains the geometry of the tip and the nanostructure of the film, which allows to go much beyond simplified state-of-the-art analysis of e.g. diffusion measurements. A major innovation is that we will “break” the device, which consists of a stack of various layers, into two parts. One part remains on the substrate and the second one is the tip itself, which is coated with the layers of the other part of the device. We expect that this approach allows us to probe what is going on under operation in various layers and record data that has never been measured, e.g. nano-electroluminescence beyond the diffraction limit. Furthermore, cross sectional studies will be conducted to investigate various influences such as mobile ions and inhomogeneities by correlative microscopy in operando and as a function of the temperature. Advanced image analysis and comparison with tailored simulations will assist us with the quantification of parameters, which is commonly a challenge in imaging techniques.Both, the specific results on the perovskite solar cells as well as the developed methodology will impact research in PV and allow for a targeted tackling of weak points in the performance. The new methods will shape the progress in in-situ and in-operando studies in materials science in general, an emerging field with high demand.

The project Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Sensors (EFFECTOR) will deliver innovative and environmentally-friendly solutions for digital and wearable electronics at TRL7. These objects will be individually powered by harvesting low-level light and will be made from sustainable materials for a bright digital future. EFFECTOR will contribute to a strategic position through an open economy in the key digital, and human-centric emerging technology by developing highly sustainable energy harvesting under diffuse, low-light conditions in the key areas of security and health. EFFECTOR will create new sustainable European value chains for photovoltaic technologies and open new innovative business-to-business operations by doubling the efficiency of non-toxic organic solar cells for use under low-level light. It will couple in a streamline way with non-toxic, sustainable supercapacitors with advanced low power electronics. The EFFECTOR strategy is to bring solar cell technology to mainstream use by eliminating the need for mains electricity from everyday human-centred electronics. It will develop sustainable materials and processes, using non-toxic materials and reducing environmental impact applicable for a huge raft of human-centred technologies and innovations. EFFECTOR draws on the world-leading inkjet OPV manufacturing of Dracula Technologies, the sustainable non-toxic aqueous supercapacitors of Innocell, and the high fidelity power management systems from e-peas. With its world-leading academic partners in solar cell design (SDU), high throughput industrial electronic printing and integration (VTT) and polymers for solar cell stabilization (CNRS), it will demonstrate this innovative multi-faceted approach in vital health monitoring with Polar and portable device applications with CardLab’s biometric card technology. EFFECTOR will demonstrate how low-level and indoor light can power our future in a secure, reliable and sustainable way.

To reach decarbonization goals of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, an unprecedented increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) production and deployment is required in the forthcoming years. It is estimated that 63.4 TW of PV needs to be installed worldwide, a more than 60-fold increase from the currently installed 1 TW.Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSC) are an emerging thin-film PV technology projected to play an important role in the terawatt-level PV deployment, either as a competitive alternative or tandem partner to the mature crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology. PSCs gained significant interest in recent years with remarkable and unprecedented power conversion efficiencies that have reached 26.1% for single-junction solar cell in only over a decade of research. Other advantages of PSCs include lower costs and simplicity of fabrication, adaptability to large-area processing, and compatibility with other PV technologies for tandem application. Efforts on fabricating tandem devices enabled by the tunability of PSC bandgap are gaining popularity due to promised reduction of $/W, with the EPFL PVlab standing at the forefront of this research. The current record efficiency of c-Si/PSC tandems is 33.9%, and several companies (e.g., Oxford PV, Hanwha Q Cells, etc.) are attempting to commercialize the technology.With this aim in mind, research focus is progressively shifting from pursuing PSC efficiencies to stability studies, as scalability, manufacturability and durability of the technology are lagging behind their laboratory-scale success. The lack of long-term operational stability in the outdoor environment is currently the major hurdle and technological barrier to commercialization. In this framework, the proposed project entitled ‘Failure analysis of PErovskite-based modules towArd long-term field ReliabiLity’ (PEARL) aims to address current challenges and bottlenecks in perovskite-based module reliability by applying lessons learnt from commercial c-Si PV technology and develop appropriate encapsulation and failure analysis strategies. Besides the susceptibility to moisture and oxygen that can be prevented by introducing adequate encapsulation techniques, some of the main degradation modes include thermal degradation, light-induced degradation, potential-induced degradation (PID), reverse-bias degradation from partial shading, mechanical delamination, and (electro)-chemical corrosion. Stressors such as light (including ultraviolet (UV)), temperature, and bias induce chemical reactions and/or elemental migrations through interfaces in cells and encapsulated modules, resulting in severe and irreversible power loss. Modifications in PSC device stack, compositional changes, and additive doping are explored as paths to enhance PSC stability. However, the multitude of possible device and module architectures, interfaces, and compositions are making our understanding of PSC reliability challenging.Proper encapsulation of perovskite devices is essential; however, typical PV encapsulation strategies involve the use of elevated temperatures, and polymeric materials producing volatile products and possibly reactions harmful to PSC during lamination or operation lifetime. Glass/glass with desiccated edge seal with or without a sheet of transparent polymeric encapsulant were proposed to encapsulate perovskites. However, as of now, there are only a few durability studies providing fundamental understanding of the degradation mechanisms in encapsulated perovskite-based cells or modules. To this end, efforts are made to design and standardize accelerating testing for perovskites, such as the International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability (ISOS) protocols. Accelerated stress tests aim to reproduce field failure and the US-based Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technology (PACT) plays an important role to bridge the gap between the outdoor and indoor performance by providing independent testing and validation of the fielded module performance and develop standardized testing protocols for perovskite modules.Scaling up from cell to module reveals additional weaknesses of the technology, including processing heterogeneities, vulnerabilities from connecting individual cells, and greater mechanical stresses at the interfaces. Introducing a polymeric encapsulant into the module may have two-fold consequences: a low-modulus encapsulant would provide mechanical support reducing risk of delamination; however, introduction of additional interfaces may cause elemental migrations and interactions-in particular between encapsulant additives and the cell stack. For example, PV encapsulants play an important role in power loss of c-Si modules, typically from action of UV and bias resulting in decomposition and interaction of UV absorbing additives and interfacial elemental migrations, respectively.Proper methodologies to characterize degradation on a module-level are yet to be developed. The challenges arise from sensitivity of the materials requiring delicate handling and an inert atmosphere. Strategies to deconstruct c-Si and thin-film CdTe and CIGS modules are in place, but these technologies are significantly more robust and environmentally stable.In the proposed work, I would like to address the above-described challenges to perovskite reliability with lessons learnt from c-Si PV. In the three operational work packages of the project (module fabrication, stress testing, and destructive analysis) I will (1) optimize perovskite module packaging with suitable materials and methods, transferable from single- to multi-junction module architectures, (2) monitor degradation rates during accelerated UV weathering and outdoor aging focusing on effects of module encapsulation, (3) develop destructive methodology to extract module areas of interest for characterization, and finally (4) elucidate degradation mechanisms through advanced material characterization.The unique aspect of this study relies in developing a damage-free module packaging and dismantling strategy adaptable to a variety of perovskite-based single- or multi-junction architectures. Because perovskite technology advances fast with module and layer composition and designs constantly changing and improving, the transferability of the approach to study degradation mechanisms is key. Among the few publications on perovskite module stability, there are hardly any focusing on understanding the failure on a module level, and none on analyzing a cross-section of a full module stack. Finally, UV weathering studies of perovskites have been largely neglected due to eliminating UV-sensitive layers such as TiO2, and SnO2 or possibility of using UV-blocking encapsulants. However, UV is one of the most severe stress factors affecting c-Si modules, causing photo-oxidative degradation of PV encapsulants. Addressing these steps is critical to advance perovskites a step closer to commercialization and may be also valuable for their application in different fields.

Fortunately, the number of PV systems on Swiss roofs is steadily increasing. However, climate change is also expected to lead to an increase in the number of hailstorms and thus also in hail damage. If glass breaks, a module must always be replaced. However, it is often not easy to tell whether the module is so badly damaged that it needs to be replaced. The SPF's mobile PV laboratory (www.pv-lab.ch) can reliably detect and classify cell damage. More than 500 PV systems were measured in this way after the severe hailstorms in Switzerland in 2021. The Achilles project evaluates this data and analyzes the influence of various parameters, such as hail size or the year of construction of the systems, on the development of module and cell damage. Furthermore, the long-term behavior of cell damage will be investigated. Shortly after cell cracks occur, they have little influence on the performance or safety of the modules, but this can change in the medium to long term. A module with minor damage can often continue to supply energy for a long time without any problems and therefore does not need to be replaced immediately. However, it is important to have a reliable basis for deciding when a module needs to be replaced. For this reason, a test procedure for the accelerated aging of PV modules in relation to the long-term effects of hail damage is to be developed and tested on various modules with and without hail damage. Finally, recommendations are to be made. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Renewable energies provide clean, inexhaustible, and increasingly competitive energy source differing from fossil fuels in diversity, abundance, and potential for use. Solar energy capacity in European Union has been increasing in recent years with Germany, Spain and Poland leading the way in new installations. In 2022, the European Union added a record-breaking 41.4GW of solar power, increasing the total solar power capacity by 25%. Within the solar energy market, perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs) will contribute significantly towards the overall mix of solar energy due to PSCs differentiators compare to other solar Photovoltaic technologies of: (i) low-cost, (ii) excellent power-to-weight performance and (iii) high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.7% at lab-scale in 2022, up from 3.8% in 2009. A key challenge of PSC technology is replication at large-scale as there is a substantial difference in performance from small-area cell (lab-scale) and large-area module performance. PERSEUS is designed to establish a foundation for PSC production and application development within Europe. The project will develop and demonstrate 3 different large area PSC architectures that offer broad adoption potential across multiple industries such as Floating Photovoltaics, Building Integrated and Applied Photovoltaics, Agri-Photovoltaics and Urban Photovoltaics. As each end-user requires different properties (e.g. performance, lifetime and cost targets), PERSEUS will develop parallel solutions to meet end-user needs covering: (1) single-junction opaque modules (2) semi-transparent modules and (3) 4T Perovskite + CIGS tandem module architectures. These will be translated into ‘blueprints’, of multi-stage manufacturing line(s) which have validated, matched outputs and allow immediate post-project progress to the commercialization phase.

SHINE PV will develop alternative technological routes to PV production for Silicon Heterojunction and TOPCon solar cells, covering the three key steps in the back-end manufacturing: metallization, post-processing and interconnection. SHINE PV will demonstrate different flows and down-select the most promising ones in terms of cost of ownership and high volume manufacturing readiness. Advanced equipment at TRL7 with Industry 4.0 dedicated features, innovative materials and solutions will be developed. For the metallization, SHINE PV will introduce parallel dispensing and plating as High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) alternative processes to incumbent screen printing, with the objective of demonstrating the complete or partial replacement of Ag with Cu, a fundamental step to enable Tera-Watt scale production levels. Moreover, SHINE PV will increase the efficiency through cell post-processing by applying Light Soaking process in HVM and recover the cutting-induced losses by Edge Re-Passivation. For the module making step, the innovations in interconnection proposed are Twill and Shingling processes and HVM equipment. Both will leverage on the optimization of the metallization and post-processing steps and will demonstrate their potential in terms of superior electrical properties, aesthetics, reliability, and compatibility with premium module designs. The expectation of the project is to enable an increase of solar cell (or module) efficiency of 0.5% absolute versus the reference process with a simultaneous CoO reduction of 20%, due to reduced material costs and increased equipment productivity. SHINE PV project will demonstrate the integrated innovative processes and novel equipment both virtually and within physical pilots at industrial partners at TRL7. To our knowledge for all these technologies no production equipment is available for HVM worldwide, and we envision a great potential for a PV supply chain revamping in EU.

The EMPOWER project will develop alternative equipment and processes to advance PV manufacturing, tackling the bottlenecks across the entire value chain-from Si wafer production to PV module fabrication-. Our goal is to reduce Capital Expenditure (CapEx) and Operating Expenditure (OpEx), leading to a lower Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) in Europe. We aim to enhance throughput, yield, sustainability, and decrease energy and raw material consumption. We will demonstrate the high-quality N-type Si wafers production using direct wafering tools, bypassing the traditional PolySi, ingot, and sawing process, contributing to cost reduction, minimizing waste production CO2 footprint. This innovative wafering technology will revolutionize the traditional wafer process, revitalizing Europe's PV upstream industry. Simultaneously, we will demonstrate alternative metallization processes for solar cells to reduce silver (Ag) consumption, high-throughput edge passivation to mitigate power loss during cell cutting, and high-speed interconnection and lamination to meet flexibility requirements in diverse cell and module configurations. The emphasis is on advancing N-type Si-based high-efficiency solar cell technologies, prioritizing low carbon footprint production, with an opportunity to compete with the Chinese PV industry. Leveraging Industry 4.0 implementation, EMPOWER aims to enhance production efficiency, improve PV production quality, and further reduce production costs. The project includes a demonstration of a virtual vertically integrated PV production line, along with the development of business cases and market introduction strategies. Through close collaboration in a multidisciplinary and multiactor approach including a solid exploitation and business development strategy, EMPOWER will not only achieve low-cost European PV manufacturing, but also bring Europe back to the leadership in the PV sector.

The HyPer-project aims to develop an industrial process for the manufacturing of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. HyPer targets the demonstration of textured industrial tandem cells with an efficiency >30% on an area of >250 cm2 thanks to the development of an hybrid two-step deposition method for the perovskite absorber. By optimizing materials, processes and device architectures, another objective will be to extend the operational lifetime of tandems to approach standards reached by mainstream PVtechnologies. HyPer will directly contribute to the EU Green Deal by strengthening the EU PV manufacturing ecosystem to safeguard technology independence and energy security. The last decade has seen a decline in PV manufacturing in Europe due to strong competition from China. With the work planned in HyPer, important foundations will be laid for the industrialization in Europe of the next generation of PV products based on high-efficiency perovskite silicon tandem solar cells.

Switzerland should multiply its photovoltaic (PV) capacity by at least 6 times over the next 25 years (2050). Accurate performance assessment and optimized design are essential to maximize PV yield. By analyzing the data of hundreds of PV plants, the project aims at triggering a learning process. Focus will be dedicated to: (1) reducing uncertainties in performance loss estimates; (2) increasing statistics by enlarging the base of analyzed PV projects; (3) develop data-driven failure identification and classification algorithms (FDD). Compared to the previously SFOE-funded ASSURed-PV project, these major novel activities are planned: expansion of FDD algorithms to include irreversible failure modes, extend the scope of the analysis from small to largescale PV plants, increasing statistics.

Photovoltaics (PVs) cells will play a major role in the worldwide transition to more sustainable sources of energy. There has been a vast scale up in the deployment of PV cells driven by the drastic price reduction of Si photovoltaics (Si-PVs). It is now widely accepted that increases in PV efficiency are key to pushing PV deployment further and continuing to lower costs. However, after decades of research and development, Si-PVs are approaching the theoretical limit for power conversion efficiencies (currently 26.8% out of a possible 29.4%) as determined by the Shockley-Queisser limit, due to thermalisation losses. There is currently no commercially deployed technology that can overcome this challenge. The project LEEMONS will make a proof-of-concept demonstration of a new technology – an electron multiplication phenomenon, which overcomes these fundamental thermalisation losses by converting high energy electrons into several lower energy electrons. This solution is compatible with 80% (possibly 95%) of current PV manufacturing capacity as well as future designs and hence requiring little change on the current manufacturing lines and therefore low capital expenses. LEEMONS project will produce prototypes fabricated from state-of the art European PV cells (PERC based and Heterojunction solar cells). These integrated cells shall demonstrate a gain in power conversion efficiency, thus opening up a new technological area, which will help deliver both economic, societal and environmental benefits.

The project aims to comprehensively understand and enhance the adoption of residential photovoltaic (PV) systems within diverse socio-economic and environmental contexts. By analyzing factors influencing homeowners' decisions to adopt solar energy, this study identifies key motivators and barriers across different regions. Through a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative data analysis and qualitative interviews, the project seeks to unravel the complex interplay between economic incentives, regulatory frameworks, cultural attitudes, and environmental awareness. Recommendations will be tailored to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and community leaders to foster a supportive ecosystem for PV adoption. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the global transition towards sustainable energy, reducing carbon footprints, and promoting energy independence among residential sectors.

The MENTOR research initiative will provide a comprehensive and versatile technical platform for the development of next-generation indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) that efficiently re-use energy from artificial illumination to power electronics, eventually contributing to an energy- and climate-neutral future. MENTOR aims to unlock the full potential of IPVs taking into consideration growing concerns about sustainability, through the establishment of the first international network of 8 universities, 7 industrial partners, and 5 research centers. The consortium will cover all the key aspects and technologies related to IPVs, including sustainable design, organic and inorganic materials synthesis, photovoltaics manufacturing and characterization, device physics and modelling, theoretical and machine learning-driven approaches, photovoltaics recycling, and industrial processing. MENTOR will establish an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and global program of doctoral training and research that propels the development of new leaders capable of directing academic and industrial R&D on renewable energy, electronics, and sustainability through the successful implementation of 16 doctoral candidate (DC) individual projects. This research initiative will amplify the recently recognized importance of IPVs for the sustainable powering of the IoT by advancing novel material designs, processing methods, device architectures, theoretical models, and characterization standards across disciplines and sectors.

Sandwich PV enables affordable, high-quality PV systems in exposed locations. The innovative system enables high winter power yields, thereby making a significant contribution to a secure power supply during the winter months.

An outdoor measurement method for PV modules is to be developed. The measurement method has the following properties: (1) Thanks to several sensors or the possibility of repositioning sensors, it is more accurate than comparable measurement methods. (2) The measurement method can estimate the measurement uncertainty or the accuracy of the individual measurements. The measurement accuracy is particularly dependent on the weather conditions and the temporal and spatial homogeneity of the irradiation during the measurement. An algorithm is to be developed for a measuring device (IV Curve Tracer, IVCT) developed by the PV laboratory at BFH, which will be used to calculate the measurement accuracy and display it together with the measurement results. The measurement accuracy can be increased by adjusting sensor positions (reference cells) and repeating the measurement. In principle, the measuring software should be able to be used in any characteristic curve measuring device In this project, it will be demonstrated by means of the IVCT of BFH. The measurement method is to be used in particular in the re-use sector. It should become the most cost-effective method currently available for evaluating the performance of PV modules in the field.

The EU guidelines for circular production and supply chains require a strategic approach at every stage of the product lifecycle. The shift towards circularity starts with circular design principles, where the linear “take-make-dispose” model is superseded by the one that prioritizes reusability, reparability, and recyclability. CIRCMAN5.0 combines advanced industry 4.0 technologies with human-centric design principles to assess and demonstrate how waste reduction and optimization of raw material can be feasible and profitable while significantly reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing processes. CIRCMAN5.0 delivers a Human-Centred AI-aided Framework for the Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry, entailing: (I) AI-driven modelling and circular-by-design simulation techniques for product design; (II) ML algorithms for dynamic production process reconfiguration; (III) A Cognitive Digital Twin environment supported by AAS models for testing and verification of manufacturing processes for efficient resource utilisation, waste management etc; (III) A Circularity and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Framework to help with comprehensive evaluation of the sustainability aspects of products and processes using data/feedback from AI-based process optimisation, forecasting models, energy and emissions metrics etc.; (IV) The Human-in-the-Loop (HitL) Recommendation Engine to provide actionable and explainable recovery strategies for EoL products; (V) The Digital Product/Material Passport (DPP) enabled by Distributed Ledger Technology enabling secure and trustworthy information sharing. The learning resources developed in the project will equip the EU industrial workforce with digital, circular and transversal skills. CIRCMAN5.0 will be tested in four (4) PV manufacturing industries providing different type of products (e.g. perovskites PV, BIPV, BAPV, OPV).

In recent years, organometal halide perovskite-based photovoltaics (PV) have attracted great interest for their high power conversion efficiency at low manufacturing cost. Presently, East Asia especially China and North America are rapidly ramping up towards mass production of perovskite PV. More efforts are urgently needed for perovskite PV upscaling in Europe. LAPERITIVO focuses on the development of large-area stable perovskite solar modules, using processes with high manufacturability. Efficiency targets are 22% and 20% for 900 cm2 opaque and semi-transparent (with >95% bifaciality) modules, respectively. Key research activities include the deposition of high-quality perovskite films as well as contacting layers over large substrate area using industrially viable techniques. Indoor and outdoor field tests, in line with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, will be performed to monitor module reliability. Safety, circularity, and sustainability will be assessed to demonstrate products with minimized environmental impact. The developed semi-transparent modules will be applied to perovskite/silicon four-terminal tandem modules and also to Agrivoltaics. Design of perovskite PV pilot line of 200 MW and production capacity of 5 GW in Europe will also be explored. The well-balanced consortium consists of 22 complementary partners including 8 European leading research institutes/universities (IMEC, UNITOV, EMPA, Fraunhofer ISE, IPVF, CNRS, CSEM, Hellenic Mediterranean University), 1 African research institute (Green Energy Park, Morocco), 5 small and medium-sized enterprises (Becquerel Institute, Becquerel Institute France, Becquerel Institute Spain, Dyenamo, TSE Troller, SmartGreenScans, BeDimensional), and 6 big companies (Pilkington Technology Management Limited (PTML), Singulus Technologies, Voltec Solar, Engie, TotalEnergies, EDF). In this way, the project aims to establish the pathway to open the era of manufacturing perovskite-based next-generation PV products in Europe.

Floating PV, if it is to aid the transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society and contribute towards the EU policy goals, must overcome 3 challenges that are also high-lighted in the Work Programme. FPV must prove its sustainability, by demonstrating low impact on biodiversity and satisfy end-of-life requirements, its longevity and reliability by demonstrating system components that satisfy structural and functional requirements for the entire lifecycle, and its affordability, by reducing the LCOE from FPV power plants. These are the challenges that the objectives of SuRE seek to overcome. Activities are structured into 3 generalizable topics, SUstainability, Reliability, and Efficiency, which gives SuRE FPV its name, and are designed to advance the entire FPV industry. We will further work with concrete technology developments for 3 leading European FPV technologies to improve their design, sustainability, cost-competitiveness and application range. The three FPV technology providers are Ciel et Terre (CTI), who have installed 650 MW globally, Zimmermann PV-Steel Group (ZIM), who is dominating the European FPV market, and Sunlit Sea (Sunlit) who is providing a innovative FPV solution for off-shore deployment. CTI has recently prototyped a new floater design, which will be developed and tested in SuRE, first 50 kW, then on 5 MW scale. ZIM aims to expand their technology to higher sea states, and will build a 5 MW based on the developments in floater-, connection- and anchoring- technology in SuRE. Sunlit are about to scale up their FPV technology and see potential for large reductions in cost and CO2 footprint through the activities planned in SuRE. They will build a smaller, but still commercially relevant, pilot of 100 on the Norwegian cost. Ultimately, SuRE will provide both cost-efficient and sustainable new FPV technologies and generalizable knowledge, thereby expanding the potential application areas without environmental sacrifices.

The project CREATE aims to extend the knowledge of energy yield and degradation rates of new PV mainstream technologies for different mounting configuration, which is crucial to reduce the risks of underperforming systems. The results of previous outdoor measurement campaigns initiated by SUPSI in 2021 highlighted criticalities on some of the mainstream technologies, as early-stage fail-ures or degradation rates exceeding power warranties which requires further investigations and longer time series data to discern between the different degradation modes and to correlate labora-tory testing to field performance data. CREATE will therefore extend the measurement campaigns for other 3 years by putting more emphasis on the analysis of specific degradation mechanisms oc-curring in heterojunction (HJT), tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and back-contact (BC) technologies, which are in mass production now (TOPCon) or have been identified in the industrial roadmaps as the most promising for the next technology transition. The analysis will be supported by accelerated indoor tests aiming in explaining the field performance and observed degradation pat-terns. Energy Rating assessments according to IEC 61853 will be performed in the laboratory and compared to field data to better understand their accuracy and applicability for Switzerland and BIPV systems and to demonstrate the impact of climate or application specific energy yield assessments. The impact of climate or application specific degradation rates and its impact on lifetime energy rat-ing will be further assessed. Supporting measures for the introduction of a new European energy label for the evaluation of PV modules will be pursued within the project in close cooperation with international expert groups working in this field.

LUMINOSITY is an industry driven project aimed at leveraging the flexible perovskite solar cells (PSC) technology to commercially relevant production scales, using established industrial processes. The objective of the project is to demonstrate roll-to-roll (R2R) processed photovoltaic (PV) module with power conversion efficiency (PCE) of >20% at an area of >900 cm2, and thus overcome the efficiency gap between lab-scale and fab-scale processed devices, elevating the TRL up to 7. One of the unique selling points of this work is the commercial substrate foil based on aluminum with fluorinated-tin-oxide (FTO) electrode layer, which is an intellectual property of HyET Solar, the end user in the consortium. By using this substrate foil, LUMINOSITY will alleviate the bottlenecks related to limited process window of typical polymer substrate foils – such as high quality nickel oxide charge transport layer deposition (requires 300ºC thermal process) – to reach high stability, efficiency, and lower environmental impact, while keeping the flexibility. The consortium encompasses the full value chain from research and technology developers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and industrial end-users. Together, we are well-equipped to surmount the existing challenges that have hindered the widespread adoption of PSC technology. Specifically, LUMINOSITY will achieve operational stability exceeding 20 years that rivals the lifetime of current commercial thin film PV technologies, while ensuring economic (0.14 USD/W at R2R production scale) and environmental feasibility (50% lower CO2 foot-print in comparison to c-Si PV), substantiated by comprehensive Life Cycle and Techno-economic Analysis. LUMINOSITY will fast-track the market uptake of flexible perovskite PV technology and thus enable rapid increase of PV installation capacity in EU to reach the goals set by REPowerEU plan.

The negative impacts of climate change become increasingly visible. The major reason for climate change is our non-sustainable way of life, in particular regarding burning fossil fuels. Despite the dramatic situation, humankind seems not willing to drastically change their energy-demanding habits. Thus, a fast technological solution is the only way to mitigate the most severe consequences. Here, photovoltaics comes into play, which hardly causes CO2 emission during operation. However, the fabrication of conventional silicon modules releases CO2 and requires a lot of energy during refining the silicon and producing wafers. This drawback could be overcome by thin-film technologies, which require much less material and energy during manufacturing. Most promising are metal-halide perovskites here due to their excellent optoelectronic properties despite being processed from solution and with precursors of much lower purity than silicon.Power conversion efficiencies of perovskite solar cells reached more than 25% and, employed in tandems cells, even more than 30%. However, achieving high long-term stability remains challenging. Beyond external factors such as humidity, further culprits are mobile ions in the perovskite, phase-instabilities, and reactions with other materials in the device stack. All these properties are related to interfaces in the solar cells. In fact, for such a thin film (<0.5 µm) of a high-quality material as nowadays perovskites are, interfaces dominate the overall behaviour of the solar cell. Thus, a lot of effort has already been dedicated to interfaces. However, the conventional interface control has been mainly based on a trial-and-error approach without considering distinctive characteristics of various surface termination originating from organic and inorganic composites in halide perovskite crystals. More importantly, a lack of collective understanding regarding the electronic properties at heterojunction interfaces hinders perovskite solar cells (PSCs) from reaching the theoretical performance. Beyond the interface itself, the bottom layer additionally determines the bulk properties by influencing the perovskite growth. Thus, understanding and tailoring the functionality of interfaces is key for highly efficient and stable PSCs and thus subject of this research project.The goal is to achieve stable perovskite solar cells by a holistic strategy on tailoring and understanding both top and bottom interface. This approach requires a highly interdisciplinary team of chemists, materials scientists, and device physicists, which is provided by the Korean-Swiss consortium. In terms of materials, covered by the Korean side, we will go beyond the state of the art of conventional interface passivation strategies and work on surface reconstruction methods on the top interface to make the “interface region” more resilient during stress occurring under operation. For the bottom interface we will focus on strain control by heteroepitaxy since strain has been recently identified as a reason for enhanced recombination and reduced long-term stability due to undesired phase transitions. Evaluating the effect of such combined interface + close-by-regions engineering on the optoelectronic properties requires subtle and accurate optoelectronic characterization. Those will be undertaken by the Swiss partner, who will extend methods that are established for homogeneous bulk properties towards providing spatial resolution. We will achieve this goal by combining advanced photoluminescence and transient electrical measurements with numerical device modelling. They will be complemented by characterization on the nanoscale using colocalized optical and atomic force microscopy on cross sections of operational devices.Since the target of the project are highly stable solar cells, the operational stability will be assessed under various ambient conditions. Beyond tracking the stability, we will employ periodic electrical characterization in situ to understand the underlying degradation mechanism.The outcomes of this project will be highly relevant for the perovskite community and more generally for materials science. The developed methodology both experimental and theoretical, can be transferred to other problems in solid state physics. The more stable perovskite solar cells will contribute towards the fast development of a novel photovoltaic technology that can help us in fighting climate change.

The SiLEAN project, involving 2 research institutes, one University partner, 4 SMEs and 1 industry partner, deals with the development of advanced innovations to tackle the major drawbacks of silicon heterojunction solar cell technology, namely the high energy and material demand for Si wafer manufacturing, limited current generation, and the consumption of scarce materials like silver, bismuth and indium. Within the scope of the project, we will directly grow the wafers from the gas phase with low temperature processes, apply alternative passivation concepts that show higher optical transparency, develop indium-free contact layers and apply silver and bismuth-free metallization with all-in-one cell interconnection and encapsulation. We aim to achieve >25.5% solar cell efficiency and >23.5% module efficiency with 50% lower costs for Si wafers and contacting, as well as up to 75% lower carbon footprint. All processes applied allow upscaling to larger sizes as well as high manufacturing throughput. Eventually, the developments of SiLEAN will pave the way for a new, lean, generation of heterojunction solar cell technology that will both increment the energy conversion efficiency and unlock production at terawatt-scale.

The goal of BESTOBOT is to develop stable ultra-high efficiency (>30%) solar cells with a reduced carbon footprint and commer-cially viable process to contribute to lowering the levelized cost of photovoltaic energy. To do so, the project leverages the exper-tise of the research team in fabricating high-efficiency PV devices by understanding the fundamental mechanisms at play, in particular the interaction between the top and bottom cells forming tandem devices. A special focus will be put in ensuring the cost-effectiveness of the developed processes while avoiding the use of critical raw materials.

SUPERNOVA will embrace existing proven successful concepts (breaking silos and innovating in sector where R&D&I are usually not a common target) and will integrate them with further disruptive key elements: - O&M and grid friendly design of PV plants thanks to advanced solutions in software for the early design and engineering phase to go beyond yield maximisation. Severe weather events are increasing in frequency and bespoke planning and dedicated mitigation measures must be put in place; - Multilayer approach where standalone solutions can be hybridised and connected in interoperable digital platforms; - Avoid a data tsunami effect on stakeholders by leveraging on AI to manage and govern the immense quantity of data and provide solutions using Instruction Tuned Large Language Models; - Share data with a larger basis to generate value for the data provider and for the data user and study how the process could be also monetized; - Develop solutions related to the use of automated processes that can replace the operator's work in data and image collection, increase the intrinsic value of O&M contracts, free up human resources for data analysis itself and therefore the creation of added value in new services ; - Develop solutions that exploits all the previous key elements towards condition monitoring of PV components in view of circular economy (for e.g., reuse), drive optimal procurement for future projects, provide valuable insights for better services (for e.g. insurance) and ultimately increase profitability. Combining these features SUPERNOVA will innovate in: O&M and grid friendly design including mitigation measures for severe weather conditions, tools and components for multi aspect sensing, robotic solutions and their hybridisation, data fusion to generate AI based controlled insights explosion via federated PV asset management, classify PV components for re-use and create a PV data space.

Subsidies for facade PV systems were significantly increased in 2025, and the Electricity Act means that they no longer require a building permit. Despite these simplifications, compliance with all applicable regulations, particularly in the area of fire protection, remains crucial. With regard to fire protection for PV facades, the present project aims to develop a recognized state-of-the-art paper (STP) for low- and medium-rise buildings. To this end, the fire behavior of PV modules will be researched and the corresponding test standards developed.

Current recycling practices for Photovoltaic (PV) waste modules are unrefined and recover low volume and low value materials. To be economical and sustainable the recycling of PV waste needs to efficiently recover all of the material constituents at a quality suitable for the reuse in new PVs, with minimal impact. APOLLO will create a circular approach to link legacy recycling, future production and future recycling. A pilot line will be demonstrated and used to process an input of 40 tonnes of PV waste which will be recycled, resulting in enough reclaimed materials for 1 tonne of remanufactured silicon and 30 exemplar PV modules. Incoming modules will be streamed by glass composition, enabling batch recovery of high-quality glass, to be used for new solar-grade glass. A novel continuous ‘sonification’ technique, (ultrasonically excited etchant) will rapidly separate silicon, silver, copper and other metals in a sequence along a pipe-based process. Used liquid etchants will be recycled in a closed loop resulting in low waste, small footprint. Further, recovered silicon will be refined to a purity suitable for new PV-grade ingot growth. The objective is to deliver purified silicon with a minimum purity of 99.9999%. Multiple innovations increase the percentage weight recovery from 18% to 93%. APOLLO will prove the suitability of the recycled silicon by growing new ingots, manufacturing solar cells and then new PV modules. 20 PERC-based modules, 10 Tandem modules and 30sqm of single junction perovskite cells will be made. These modules will incorporate new designs, materials and manufacturing methods, and be designed for disassembly and recycling. Blockchain-based Digital Product Passports (DPPs) for PV will be designed and implemented as well as an online marketplace for reused, remanufactured and/or recycled PV components. DPPs provide secure and trustworthy data for the life of the product and aid recycling by supplying material, hazards and history on request.

In summer 2020, the 410 kWp PV system at the Albigna dam at 2165 m above sea level was the first large-scale high-Alpine system to be commissioned, and another will be commissioned in 2022 with the system at Lago di Lei. Due to their location, they are exposed to extreme meteorological stresses. By analyzing the yield data, periodically measuring the module output, taking thermal images and checking the general condition of the system, the aim is to gain insights into the long-term reliability of systems at comparable locations.

The aim of PV-GOAL is to promote the sustainable and efficient growth of solar energy in Switzerland by by providing access to private, commercial and industrial solar industrial solar installations for the automatic detection of outages and energy energy deficits using advanced digital twin monitoring technology. twin monitoring technology. The FHNW, in collaboration with Solextron AG to develop algorithms and a deployable cloud cloud monitoring tool that is capable of carrying out fault detection to carry out fault detection and thus, for the first time, make solar digital twin twin technology available to small and medium-sized installers for the first time. installers. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)