Project insights: Research for the energy transition

Wind energy

Protecting rotor blades from ice and rain

No ice and no erosion at the blade edge of wind turbines. New thermoplastic hybrid material with integrated heating foil protects the leading edge.

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Photovoltaics

Module with five-junction solar cell achieves efficiency of 32 per cent

Multi-junction solar cells are suitable for concentrating photovoltaics in sunny countries. The efficiency of the module reaches 41 percent.

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Photovoltaics

Simple structure of concentrator photovoltaic modules

Modules for concentrating photovoltaics are to be built directly on site in sunny countries to save transport and production costs.

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Wind energy

Avoiding standstill

Special measurement methods monitor the condition of the power electronics and determine the remaining lifetime of the individual components.

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Geothermal Energy

Reliable centrifugal submersible pumps for deep geothermal energy

No lime on bearings and seals of submersible pumps that pump hot and calcareous thermal water at a depth of several hundred metres.

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Geothermal energy

Laser beam accelerates geothermal drilling

LaserJetDrilling is the name of a new process in which a laser beam that is guided within a water jet weakens hard rock before it is actually drilled.

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Wind energy

Test benches and outdoor field trials in comparison

Test benches offer reproducible conditions compared to testing new wind turbines in the open field. But is this data enough for certification alone?

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Photovoltaics

Efficient solar cells developed from float-zone silicon

Bifacial silicon solar cells achieve an efficiency of 21.6 per cent. New ultra-thin wires cut more wafers from a silicon crystal.

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Photovoltaics

New screen printing process for ultra-thin contact fingers for efficient silicon solar cells

A new screen printing process enables the printing of narrow contact fingers on silicon solar cells of less than 20 microns.

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