Who we are and what we are researching on
Credit: DLR.
The Institute for Solar Research is concerned with the use of solar energy on Earth. Our research focuses on concentrating solar thermal systems for the generation of electricity, heat and fuels, on solar energy meteorology, methods for optimising the operation of solar thermal power plants and photovoltaic systems, as well as the energy evaluation of buildings.
Institute management
The Institute is jointly managed by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Pitz-Paal and Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Hoffschmidt. Our approximately 130 employees from research and administration work at DLR headquarters in Cologne, as well as in Stuttgart, Jülich, and in Almería, Spain.
Infrastructure
Various laboratories and test facilities on an industrial scale are available to our researchers for experiments. The two Jülich solar towers are unique in Germany. The solar thermal experimental power plant and the multifocus solar tower have a total of four test chambers that provide space for different solar irradiation experiments. DLR and industrial companies use the large-scale facility to test technologies for solar thermal power plants and for the production of solar fuels under realistic conditions. In southern Spain, our researchers have access to the largest European test centre for concentrating solar technologies, the Plataforma Solar de Almería. The facility is owned and operated by the Spanish research centre CIEMAT.
Transferring our research into application
The Institute for Solar Research sees itself as a bridge builder from basic research to large-scale implementation and application in industry. We therefore work closely with industrial companies on many projects. Five companies have already emerged from the Institute, which market and further develop the Institute's technical innovations.
Funding
Our research on fundamental issues is mainly financed by funds from the programme-oriented funding of the Helmholtz Association. For application-oriented research in close cooperation with industry, we receive additional funding from third parties. These are tied to specific projects or research areas for a limited period of time and come primarily from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, funding programmes of the European Union and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.