With her visit, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy, Thekla Walker, officially inaugurated our new laboratory extension. For us, this marks an important milestone: the new facilities enable us to develop photovoltaic technologies faster and to bring them into industrial application together with our partners.
Grand opening of the new laboratory, Minister Thekla Walker cuts the ribbon (from left to right: Environment Minister Thekla Walker and ISC Director Dr Kristian Peter, in the background: some of the ISC staff)
The expansion of our research infrastructure became necessary because key equipment in our existing laboratories, after more than 15 years of intensive use, has increasingly reached its technical limits. At the same time, global demand for more efficient solar cells, modules and manufacturing processes continues to grow.
We were delighted to welcome numerous guests from politics, industry, research as well as members, advisors and long-standing partners of our institute to the inauguration.
“What ISC has built over the past 20 years is truly unique,” said Dr. Damian Brunner (RENA) on behalf of the ISC Konstanz advisory board. “It forms a bridge between the laboratory and the real world – combining deep expertise with practical implementation in production lines around the globe.”
New opportunities for industry-oriented solar research
In our new laboratories we develop high-efficiency solar cells, modules and manufacturing processes for industrial production. The new equipment allows us to conduct research and development much faster and under conditions that closely resemble industrial manufacturing.
Baden-Württemberg’s Environment Minister Thekla Walker during the inauguration of ISC Konstanz’s upgraded photovoltaic research laboratories, which support industrial solar cell technologies including TOPCon and tandem concepts.
During the laboratory tour we presented, among others, a new wet-chemical processing system from the Baden-Württemberg equipment manufacturer RENA, an upgraded screen-printing system from ASYS, a sputtering system from Von Ardenne for advanced cell concepts, and a stringer from Mondragon for module interconnection.
This enables us to cover the entire development chain – from the solar cell to the finished module – within our laboratories and to further develop technologies together with industrial partners.
Technology from Konstanz in real-world applications
Technologies developed at ISC Konstanz are already visible in real-world applications. For example, ZEBRA solar modules developed and manufactured at ISC generate electricity on the fully electric passenger vessel MS Mainau on Lake Constance. On the nearby island of Reichenau, a carport equipped with bifacial BiSoN modules demonstrates how solar cells can utilize sunlight from both sides to achieve particularly high energy yields.
Internationally, companies such as Next2Sun rely on our expertise in bifacial solar technologies for vertical photovoltaic power plants.
Research driving the energy transition
“Our research contributes directly to the energy transition,” says Dr. Kristian Peter, Managing Director of ISC Konstanz. “With the new laboratories we can test innovations faster and transfer them into industrial production together with our partners.”
Guests and staff at the laboratory opening at ISC Konstanz with Environment Minister Thekla Walker (center)
The state of Baden-Württemberg supported investments in the new research infrastructure with around €8 million, for which we are very grateful.
With the new laboratory facilities, we are strengthening our role as a bridge between research and industrial application – helping innovations from Konstanz contribute to the global energy transition.
👉 You can find the full press release here as a PDF.