Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation pursuing the tasks of a Baden-Wuerttemberg state university and of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. The KIT mission combines the three core tasks of research, higher education, and innovation. With about 9,400 employees and 24,500 students, KIT is one of the big institutions of research and higher education in natural sciences and engineering in Europe.
The Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) is mainly called upon: to promote and carry out basic and applied research and innovation technology; to disseminate and transfer technologies, encouraging their use in productive and social sectors; to provide high-tech services, studies, tests and evaluations to both public and private bodies and enterprises. The activities on new Technologies for Energy, Renewable Sources and Energy Conservation are conducted by around 400 employees, 90% of which is made up of highly specialised and experienced researchers and technicians.
In 1982, the Flemish Government set up a comprehensive program in the field of microelectronics to strengthen the microelectronics industry in Flanders. IMEC has grown to become the world-leading independent research centre in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. In 2008 IMEC’s own revenues amounted 224 million EUR and had a total staff of 1,771 employees of which 184 PhD students and 391 industrial residents. The SCT group (Solar Cell Technology) within IMEC performs new research on materials and concepts for photovoltaic devices as a renewable energy source. For the solar cell fabrication, both clean room facilities and a dedicated pilot line are used. Research covers both short-term activities such as process improvements that can be immediately applied in the industry, and medium-term activities such as process development for ultra-thin wafers and thin silicon layers on cheap substrates.
INESC TEC is an Associated Laboratory coordinated by INESC Porto, a private nonprofit institution having as associates the University of Porto, INESC and the Polytechnic Institute of Porto. The activity at INESC TEC runs under the paradigm of the knowledge to value production chain: knowledge and results generated at basic research are typically injected in technology transfer projects and therefore they receive added social relevance. The existence of an Innovation and Technology Transfer Unit assures the effectiveness of this model.
HES-SO is the University of Applied Sciences for Western Switzerland. Its Industrial Systems Institute located in Sion, Valais performs multidisciplinary research and development activities in three domains: development of instruments for energy, health and environmental purposes, renewable energy and smart grid.
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) operates two scientific large scale facilities for investigating the structure and function of matter: the research reactor BER II for experiments with neutrons and the synchrotron radiation source BESSY II. In the department of solar energy our scientists are working on the next generation of solar cells, including new kinds of materials and innovative cell structures. As cofounder of the Photovoltaic Competence Centre (PVcomB) HZB supports the technology transfer to the industry.
Lemcko was founded in 1998 as an independent academic research institute focusing on electrical motors, drives and electrical power quality to provide substantial research for its industrial partners. Since then, there has been a continuous growth in manpower, knowledge and expertise in low frequent power quality (<2kHz), general low voltage electrical installations, energy-efficiency and renewable energy connected to the low voltage distribution grid.
Fraunhofer IEE (new name since 2018; formerly Fraunhofer IWES) was founded at the start of 2009 from the merger of the former Fraunhofer Center for Wind Energy and Maritime Engineering CWMT in Bremerhaven and the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Technology ISET e.V. in Kassel. The research activities of the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IIEE cover the integration of renewable energies into energy supply structures in technical and economic regard.
JĂĽlich is an interdisciplinary, publicly funded research center with a staff of about 5.000 members working on the areas of health, energy and environment. One of the institutes at JĂĽlich, the IEK5-Photovoltaik, concentrates its work on thin film silicon solar cells and related materials for several decades. JĂĽlich Supercomputing Center JSC operates several high performance supercomputers. Access to on of these supercomputers is provided via Sophia trans national access.
The European Commission`s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has a significant activity in the field of photovoltaics, which takes place in the Renewable Energy unit of the Institute for Energy. A major feature is the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI), which is a European reference laboratory for the verification of the power and energy generation of photovoltaic devices. Within the SOPHIA project, JRC is leading the networking sub-task on energy prediction and participate in the joint research activity on module lifetime, as well as offering access to its facilities.
