Your Teachers

Dr. Eva-Maria Grommes studied renewable energy at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany. She completed her PhD on the simulation of bifacial photovoltaics at the University of Luxembourg in cooperation with the Cologne University of Applied Sciences in 2024. During her PhD, she worked at the Cologne Institute for Renewable Energy and conducted research in the field of bifacial photovoltaics, building integrated photovoltaics and photovoltaic system simulation.

Today, she is a post-doctoral researcher at the Cologne Innovation and Transfer Lab, working on the acceptance of technologies for energy system transformation and the transfer of scientific content to society. In addition to her research activities, she is a science communicator on video platforms such as TikTok and Instagram under the name @energiewende.erklaert, answering questions about the energy transition.

Markus Babin was born in Austria, where he also started his scientific career with a BSc in Environmental Systems Sciences at TU Graz in 2017. He then went on to study Sustainable Energy / Solar Energy at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), which he graduated in 2020. Currently he is working on his PhD at the Photovoltaic Materials and Systems group at theDTU Department of Photonics Engineering.

His current research efforts focus around building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) with all its connected topics, including PV colouring technologies, optical characterization, modelling and simulation. His recent and current research topics include goniometric reflectance (BRDF) measurements and modelling of different glass surfaces for glare characterization, optical modelling of coloured interlayers to assess impacts on both performance and appearance, and reliability assessments of different BIPV products.

In addition to his research, Markus Babinis also a participant in IEA PVPS Task 15 on BIPV and member of CIE TC 2-85 onBRDF measurements. He is also involved in teaching activities within the SolarEnergy study line at DTU.

When he is not working on nerdy optical orPV-related matters, he enjoys hiking and skiing in the Austrian mountains andrelaxing bike rides. In flat Denmark he rather spends his time indoors, playingand modding video games.

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Leonhard Probst studied Electrical Engineering at the University ofErlangen-Nuremberg and the Technical University of Dresden. He finished his studies with the thesis "Development of a compact, bidirectional high-voltage DC/DC battery converter", which he wrote in cooperation with the Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, Germany. He completed a second master's degree in Renewable Energy at the University Paris-Saclay, France. His thesis is titled "Development of a test bench for measuring the LeTID effect of mc-PERC solar cells", which he wrote during his stay at the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP in Halle (Salle), Germany. Leonhard is a volunteer with an association called Engineers without Borders Germany and there, he is responsible for renewable energies. He organizes a periodical workshop called "Photovoltaics in Development Cooperation". He is working for Fraunhofer ISE in the group "New Devices and Technologies" as well as for IMTEK in the group "Electrochemical Energy Systems".

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Sune Thorsteinsson obtained his Master of Science from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2006, within applied physics. After working 2 years in the semiconductor metrology industry, Sune started in 2009 as development engineer in a solar startup, which was developing advanced PV modules with laminate integrated electronics. Within this job Sune acquired deep knowledge within module design, module encapsulation materials as well as fabrication of especially back contact module.

From 2012 Sune has been employed at Department of Photonics engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, where he has conducted research in different aspect of applied photovoltaics, within stand-alone systems, characterization of PV and development and characterization of BIPV systems, and has contributed to build the applied PV group at DTU. Currently the research area in focus is BIPV systems.

In 2018 Sune was the driving force in launching a specialization in Solar Energy at DTU, and have developed and co-developed 4 on campus courses within PV, and been heavily involved in developing one MOOC; “Photovoltaic Systems” which is running on Coursera.

In 2021 Sune was awarded his PhD degree based on research within applied PV,  Sune is currently teaching in PV energy engineering courses as well as supervising BSc MSc and PhD students.

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Sergiu obtained the B.Sc. degree in Automation and Applied Informatics in 2009, from the “Politehnica” University of Timisoara (UPT), Romania, after which he moved to Denmark to study, and in 2011 he obtained the M.Sc. degree in Wind Power Systems from Aalborg University, Denmark. Between 2011 and 2015 he worked towards obtaining the Ph.D. degree in “Characterization and diagnostic methods for PV modules and arrays”, at the Department of Energy Technology at Aalborg University. During this period he was a guest researcher for six months at theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory in US, within reliability testing and modelling of solar photovoltaic modules.

After obtaining his Ph.D., he continued research as a PostDoc and thereafter as Assistant Professor at Aalborg University, within performance modelling of photovoltaic systems, electroluminescence imaging, modelling and machine learning methods applied to diagnostic and condition monitoring of photovoltaic systems. During his tenure at Aalborg University he lectured in Photovoltaic Systems, Modelling of Renewable Energy Systems, and Programming of Real TimeSystems at the bachelor, master and PhD level, as well as supervised BSc and MSc thesis projects within energy systems.

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Dr. Ulf Blieske is professor in Photovoltaics at the Cologne Institute for Renewable Energy at the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences for more than 10 years. Ulf has 30 years of professional experience in the field of photovoltaics.

From 1991 – 1998, he worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg and at the Hahn-Meitner Institute, Berlin in Germany. Until 2010, he was working in R&D for solar products and as general manager of a production site for solar glass of Saint-Goba in Solar Glass. Since 2014, Ulf Blieske is director of the Cologne Institute for Renewable Energy at TH Köln. His research work is focused on "solar module technology and characterization".

Ulf Blieske filed 10 world patents in the field of PV and is author and co-author of more than 50 journal articles and conference papers in this field.

Today, he is lecturer for Bachelor and Master courses on Photovoltaics at TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences and is leading several publicly funded research projects in the field of PV. He is co-author of the book “Advances in Photovoltaics Vol. 2” in Semiconductors and Semimetals, Vol. 89 published by Elsevier.

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Mats Rönnelid got his bachelor education in molecular physics and started his career as solar energy researcher with research on non-imaging optics for solar concentrators ending up in a doctoral thesis in Solid State physics at UppsalaUniversity 1998. After this, his research has been concentrated on solar energy physics but also on energy efficient building like cool roof materials and passive houses with massive wood construction. All these research areas are closely linked to solar radiation, both the solar availability in time and space but also the physical interaction between solar radiation and technical objects like solar concentrators, solar cells, windows and building surface materials. Teaching in solar radiation and solar geometry as a basic course in a PV education is therefore a natural choice for him. In 2017, he became a full-time professor in Energy Technology at Dalarna University.

He has long experience of teaching in courses like solar radiation, solar geometry and solar building design but has also been founder and teacher in courses in sustainable buildings, thermodynamics, and environmental physics on basic and advanced level. From start of his career he has been working at Dalarna University and in one of the persons that built up solar energy research and education at SERC (Solar Energy Research Center)in the 1980’s, an activity that has been growing substantially and now has extensive research and education on both bachelor and Master level inSustainable energy systems, Solar energy engineering and Energy efficient built environment.

Beside teaching and research, Mats Rönnelid is active in creating cooperation between the academia and surrounding society, today organized by Energy Competence Center (EKC) at Dalarna University, by creating joint research, PhD projects and adapting the energy education into the need for the society. This important not at least for the fast-growing PV industry, both locally in Sweden as well as worldwide, that continuously need new knowledge to be able to develop further and meet the challenges when becoming one of the most important sources of energy in the future. Beside pure technical issues also social aspects, like gender perspectives and conflicts when new technologies are introduced on a large scale, are important to manage so renewable energy can be a natural cornerstone in a future sustainable society.

Dr. Frank Fiedler is a university lecturer and researcher at Dalarna University in Sweden. He is originally from Germany and moved to Sweden 20 years ago. He has an Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Hochschule Ulm in Germany, a Master degree in Solar Energy Engineering from Dalarna University and a PhD in Energy Technology from Mälardalen University in Sweden.

In research he worked with heating systems based on solar thermal and wood pellets and in the later years he focused on PV off-grid and PV grid-connected systems. His research interest is directed towards making PV systems more (cost) efficient and new system applications for PV.

Frank was coordinating and developing the Master programs in Solar Engineering at Dalarna University. He is course responsible and main teacher for several Bachelor and Master courses on photovoltaic and renewable power systems. Frank is teaching photovoltaic systems also at Halmstad University in Sweden and has in past also given guest lectures in Germany and Indonesia. Frank is also active as a PhD student supervisor, supervisor for Master and Bachelor thesis projects and in developing collaborations between Dalarna University and the solar industry. He is also running his own consulting company in the area of solar energy systems.

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Filipe Martinho is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Photonics Engineering of theTechnical University of Denmark, where he finished his PhD studies in 2020. He received his Master degree in Physics Engineering at the Department ofPhysics of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Filipe’s current research interests include the development of multi junction devices based on crystalline Si structures with high thermal budget for photovoltaic and electrochemical applications, in particular chalcogenide/Si tandem solar cells. Filipe has made several contributions to the field of chalcogenide thin film solar cells, in particular for the development of Cu2ZnSnS4 solar cells.

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Dr. Winfried Hoffmann studied Physics and did his Ph.D. in Biophysics. He joined the just-formed photovoltaic R&D group for thin-film solar cells of NUKEM in 1979 and took over its leadership in 1985. His focus was Applied Research towards industrialization in the area of CdS/Cu2S – Thin-Film solar cells and modules, amorphous Silicon as well as DyeSolar Cells.

Winfried Hoffmann is working in the PV industry since 1979. He was CEO of the company ASE (Applied Solar Energy GmbH, a JV between RWE and DASA) in 1994, RWE Solar GmbH, in the late 90s, one of the five largest production companies for solar modules worldwide. In 2002, the company transferred to RWE SCHOTT Solar, in 2005 to SCHOTT Solar. From 2007 to 2011, he was the managing director of Applied Materials GmbH & Co KG that manufactures solar business equipment. From 2012 until 2016, he was a member of the supervisory board of SMA Solar Technology AG and Solar-Fabrik AG. In 2017, he wrote a book chapter in Springer titled "Photovoltaics as a Major Contributor to the Future Global Energy Needs and a 100% Renewably Powered World".

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Daniel Alvarez Mira is a PhD student at the Technical University of Denmark, Department of Photonics Engineering (DTU Fotonik), working in the“modelling, performance and reliability testing of PIPV systems”. He was born in Valencia, Spain, where he studied his BSc in Industrial Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). At that time, he got his first professional experience in the solar photovoltaic (PV) field as a process technician at a PV module manufacturer company. In there he was in charge of the proper operation of the manufacturing processes and ensuring the final product met the quality standards of the company. This help him getting a good overview of the BOM and the PV modules operation.

Afterwards, he completed a double MSc degree in Energy Use at thePolytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), and Sustainable Energies at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). During that period, he studied about energy markets and systems, feasibility studies and solar energy, including solar PV systems. In particular, during his MSc thesis he built a strong knowledge within the solar irradiance modelling and solar resource assessment which is the basis for any solar energy system.

He was employed as a research assistant since graduation, and started his PhD project 18 months after. His career to date has provide him with deep knowledge in the preliminary design and performance assessment of PV system, as well as characterization of both solar cells and modules solar, while strengthening his expertise within the solar irradiance modelling. Testament to this knowledge, he has participated in several teaching-related tasks and conferences. He has prepared teaching material, lectures and evaluation exercises on PV modules fabrication, solar resource and site assessment, as well as PV systems design and performance evaluation.

Rodrigo del Prado obtained his bachelor in Energy engineering at Universidad Carlos III deMadrid (UC3M) in 2019. He started to specialize in the field of photovoltaics in his bachelor thesis ‘’ Comparative of three photovoltaic technologies by means of dimensioninga block of buildings’’. At the same time, during the last months of his bachelor, he was intern in the company CLECE at the energy services department, where he performed energy audits,
technical and economic proposals of energy services and energy savings.

Pursuing further specialization, after completing his bachelor’s degree, he moved toDenmark to study an MSc in Sustainable Energy in the field of Solar Energy at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). During the masters, he started working as Student Assistant in DTU Fotonik in the group of Photovoltaic Materials andSystems, where he gained hands on experience with PV module fabrication, IV measurements and imaging techniques.

In 2021 he completed his master’s thesis “Characterization of solar cell cracks and methods for power loss estimation”. The resulting thesis allowed to publish his first conference paper on “Characterization of Electrical Parameters ofCracked Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells in Photovoltaic Modules” at IEEEPVSC 48.

After completing his MSc, he kept working at DTU Fotonik in the group of PhotovoltaicMaterials and Systems as Research Assistant, collaborating in PV reliability projects such as DronEL, LIPI and ADELI.

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Konrad Mertens, Ph.D., studied electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen and IIT, Madras (nowadays Chennai) from 1983 to 1989. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen in 1996.
During this time, he joint the Aachen Solar-Energy-Promotion-Association and promoted the idea of cost-covering feed-in tariffs in order to advance solar energy. In 1996, he installed his first PV-plant.

He worked as a scientist in industry from 1996-2000, where he was project leader for System Development and Intelligent Networks at Deutsche Telekom, performed feasibility studies for photovoltaic fabs (fabrication facilities) and led project planning for large PV-plants. 

Since 2000 he is Professor at the Muenster University of Applied Sciences in Steinfurt, Germany, where he founded and heads the Photovoltaics Test Laboratory and the Laboratory for Optoelectronics and Sensor Technology. He lectures on the subjects of photovoltaics, sensor technology and optoelectronics, and does research in the fields of photovoltaic metrology and quality analysis of PV-plants. 

Professor Mertens has written text books about photovoltaics:

• - Photovoltaics: Fundamentals,   Technology and Practice, John Wiley & Sons, English edition, 2014 +     2019
• - Photovoltaik: Grundlagen, Technologie und Praxis, Hanser Verlag, 1st German edition in 2011,     currently the 6th edition has been published 

https://www.lehrbuch-photovoltaik.de/

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Dr. Uli Würfel studied Physics at Universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg. After that, he received his PhD in Physics from the University of Freiburg in 2006 with the topic “Electron transport in the nanoporous TiO2 layer of dye solar cells”, which was carried out in close collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

Starting from 2009 he became a project leader at “Dye and Organic Solar Cells” Department of Fraunhofer ISE and is currently the Head of Department “Organic and Perovskite Photovoltaics”.

His main research interests are characterization and modeling of organic and other type of solar cells as well as the upscaling of organic solar cells.

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Prof. Wipl.-Ing. Volker Wachenfeld studied Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Electrical Power Engineering. From 1998, he worked at SMA Solar Technology AG, a leading company for photovoltaic system technology, as the Director of Product Management and later as the Senior Vice President of Hybrid Energy&Storage Integration, being responsible for the design and development of hybrid energy system technology as well as battery storage integration. As his final position at SMA Solar, he became executive vice president of the Business Unit Off-Grid&Storage. He was thus in charge of the overall storage system technology business of the company.

Since 2018, Volker Wachenfeld is a professor of Electrical Systems at HBC Hochschule Biberach. In 2021, he was announced the director of the Institute for building and energy technologies (IGE) at HBC. Further projects and details can be found here.

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