VIPERLAB: EU project aims to boost perovskite solar industry in Europe
VIPERLAB is funded under the European Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (Grant No 101006715).
HZB runs state-of-the-art laboratories (here HySPRINT) to advance research on perovskite solar cells. © P. Dera / HZB
Also the EMIL lab at HZB will host VIPERLAB projects. © S. Grunze/HZB
The HZB is coordinating a major European collaborative project to open up new opportunities for the European solar industry. The VIPERLAB project involves 15 renowned research institutions from Europe, as well as Switzerland and Great Britain. It will be funded within the framework of the EU's Horizon 2020 programme for the next three and a half years with a total of 5.5 million euros, from which the HZB will receive just under 840,000 euros.
Perovskite semiconductors enable extremely cheap and powerful solar cells. Many research results on this class of materials are obtained in European laboratories. For example, working groups at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have already achieved several world records with perovskite solar cells. Now the HZB is coordinating a major European collaborative project to open up new opportunities for the European solar industry.
VIPERLAB stands for „Fully connected virtual and physical perovskite photovoltaics Lab“. With VIPERLAB, the participating research institutions want to accelerate the development of perovskite PV technology in Europe and promote technology transfer to industry. To this end, they want to establish a close dialogue with the emerging perovskite industry in Europe, both with the help of new initiatives and with more established players such as the European solar industry association Solar Power Europe.
The participating institutions are among the best in European perovskite research. Within VIPERLAB, they will facilitate access to their laboratories and infrastructures so that research teams from public institutions or industry can work with the optimal equipment and methods. A database on materials and building elements will also be established, incorporating information on long-term performance and environmental and economic impacts. This database will enable evidence-based commercial and policy decisions.
Through close collaboration and tailor-made research services, VIPERLAB aims to give European industry a knowledge edge along the entire value chain.
VIPERLAB is funded under the European Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (No 101006715).
- Rutger Schlatmann re-elected as ETIP PV ChairThe ETIP PV Steering Committee elected a new Chair, as well as two Vice-Chairs for the term 2024 – 2026. Rutger Schlatmann, head of the division Solar Energy at the HZB, and professor at HTW Berlin, was re-elected as the ETIP PV Chair.
- Perovskite solar cells: TEAM PV develops protocols to ensure reproducibilityTen teams at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin are building a long-term international alliance to converge practices and develop reproducibility in perovskite materials. The TEAM PV project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany.
- HZB patent for semiconductor characterisation goes into serial productionAn HZB team has developed together with Freiberg Instruments an innovative monochromator that is now being produced and marketed. The device makes it possible to quickly and continuously measure the optoelectronic properties of semiconductor materials with high precision over a broad spectral range from the near infrared to the deep ultraviolet. Stray light is efficiently suppressed. This innovation is of interest for the development of new materials and can also be used to better control industrial processes.