Organic solar cells are about to make a breakthrough

Dusseldorf When Karl Leo looks at houses, he sees one thing above all: potential. “Almost every roof would have to be covered with a solar system,” he says. But the physics professor at the TU Dresden also knows how difficult it is.

Roofs are arched or angled, windows must not be darkened. “A lot of valuable surface area is lost as a result,” explains Leo, one of the leading researchers in the field of solar cell technology.

The regulations for solar systems on new buildings are currently being tightened significantly depending on the federal state. Because by 2035, Germany should be completely supplied with green electricity. As part of the photovoltaic strategy, systems with an output of 215 gigawatts are to be installed by 2030.

The expansion must therefore triple from a good seven gigawatts in 2022 to 22 gigawatts per year. One gigawatt roughly corresponds to the output of a nuclear power plant.