Germany: New PV research lab opens in Berlin

15 April 2013

The Free University of Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has opened a new laboratory for photovoltaic research in the German capital.


Employing Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) technology, researchers hope to develop new methods that could lead to new materials for thin film solar cells and other PV applications.

High-resolution EPR spectroscopy can detect defects and impurities at the atomic level that occur during the manufacturing process and cause errors in the design of ultra-thin films for solar cells.

Researchers at the Berlin Joint EPR Laboratory (BeJEL) hope to find ways to improve the manufacturing processes of solar cells, in order to prevent such defects, as well as develop devices with greater capacity for the production and storage of renewable energy.

"The combined know-how that we bundle in the new lab will significantly strengthen Berlin as an internationally leading hub in materials and energy research," said HZB scientific director Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla.