After a week of fruitful discussions and presentations, EU PVSEC 2021 came to a successful end on September 10. The virtual conference this year welcomed over 1300 participants from all over the world, who were not only able to connect, but to interact, discuss and network via the optimized event platform.
“You have the green light.” With this positive message for the PV industry Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, has opened the 38th European PV Solar Energy Conference. In her keynote speech Commissioner Simson emphasized that the Commission is “ready to speed up, scale up and invest in solar PV”.
On the road to net zero 2050, the PV industry will play a key role in driving to fulfil the ambitious climate targets of the Commission. Simson underlined that the EU is working on creating the right political framework conditions as well as on investment perspectives.
Looking back at what has already been achieved in the PV sector in the past, it was a pleasure to see Ulrike Jahn, R&D Manager at VDE Renewables, being awarded with the prestigious Becquerel Prize for her outstanding and continuous contribution to the PV community, dedicating her life’s work to improving the quality and reliability of PV Systems.
Newly introduced this year were a series of topical panel discussions, in which international experts discussed their views on the future developments. These included the ultimate possibilities for crystalline silicon, the currently dominating technology, and concluded that there are still efficiency improvements to come, and it will remain the dominant technology for some years.
Tandem devices were also discussed and there is a strong belief that they will come to dominate, but towards the end of this decade. The first generation is likely to be composed of perovskite on a silicon substrate, thereby allowing a more straightforward transition. Other discussions looked at digitalization, sustainability and steps that need to be taken now to accelerate the energy transition to 100% renewable, including the role of storage and green hydrogen.
In 2022, Europe has the honour to host the 8th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion from 26 – 30 September 2022 in the beautiful city of Milan, Italy. Being in place for more than a quarter of a century, the WCPEC, being held every four years, is combining the world’s three largest conferences on photovoltaic research, the EU PVSEC, the IEEE PVSC, and the PVSEC.
Since it is planned to be the first physical event after two years of virtual conferences, it is particularly pleasing to see a local figure appointed as General Chair of the world conference. Dr. Alessandra Scognamiglio, senior researcher with many years of experience in the use of photovoltaics and buildings, and coordinator of the task force “Sustainable Agrivoltaics” at ENEA, will hold this position and lead the conference in the Italian metropolis.
Background EU PVSEC
The EU PVSEC is the world’s leading forum for PV Research and Development and the biggest Conference on PV Solar Energy. With a history of over 40 years, EU PVSEC is the longest running, renowned PV conference in the world.
The scientific programme is coordinated by the European Commission Joint Research Centre.
