This year the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) celebrates its 30th anniversary. What began as a vision of Professor Adolf Goetzberger, the Institute’s founder, has long become a reality. Founded on July 1, 1981 in Freiburg with 24 pioneers of solar research, Fraunhofer ISE today has developed into the largest solar research institute in Europe with over 1100 employees. Worldwide it is one of the primary initiators of a 100 percent renewable energy supply and an important research partner towards this goal.

Visionaries with Perseverance
Be it a self-sufficient solar house, photovoltaic world records or certified testing facilities, Fraunhofer ISE is internationally renowned for its projects and services in the fields of photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar buildings, energy storage, hydrogen technology and comprehensive energy concepts. Both its interdisciplinary approach, which takes, for example, the economic and social facets into consideration at an early stage, and the dedication of its staff, extending far beyond the workplace, have contributed to its success.

Enlarge image The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg (© Fraunhofer ISE/Guido Kirsch) In the areas of research, industry and politics, the Institute has acted as a driving force, shaping public opinion, and propelling the changeover to renewable energy forms. Whether at the Fraunhofer Energy Days in Berlin, the Ethics Commission of the German Federal Government, the DESERTEC Consortium for Solar Energy Harvesting in North Africa or the Climate Conference in Cancún, the impetus set and the evaluations of Fraunhofer ISE hold weight not only in technical questions.

“Since the Institute’s founding, the staff at Fraunhofer ISE is united by a collective vision which is put into action with determination,” says Professor Eicke R. Weber, the current Institute Director. “That the German federal government acknowledged the changeover in energy production and pronounced the nuclear power phase-out on June 30, the day before our official 30th anniversary, reconfirms our conviction and our research work.”

With team spirit and ingenuity
The success of Fraunhofer ISE lies in comprehensive, solution-oriented concepts that are developed in close cooperation with industry partners and always maintain the perspective of user benefits.

“At an early stage, we began to research integrated approaches for the energy efficiency in buildings using solar energy, because, only when the interaction of all parts is considered, is it possible to develop truly future-oriented concepts which are also low in cost. Today this has been accepted on the political arena. In Freiburg, we have just celebrated the completion of the first residential high-rise worldwide that has been renovated to meet passive house standards,” explains Dr. Hans-Martin Henning, Deputy Director of the Institute.

Since its founding, Fraunhofer ISE has carried out research on solar cells. The research concentrates on optimization throughout all stages of the entire value added chain. This begins with the silicon material and continues up to photovoltaic modules and system technology. Also alternative photovoltaic technologies play a key role in the on-going research at the Institute.

Over the past thirty years, the research and development work at Fraunhofer ISE has been continually recognized with many highly distinguished awards. Most recently, Dr. Heribert Schmidt received the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2011. He developed a switching for PV inverters that makes the conversion from direct current into alternating current more efficient.