Austria’s Ökofen has developed a residential heat pump that identifies cost-effective and eco-friendly electricity in real time, in order to optimize heat production. It is now seeking a patent for its proprietary control technology.

Local communities in Germany have the opportunity to operate ground-mounted PV systems via simplified contracts for existing systems or contracts for new, repowered systems.

A new study by the University of Hohenheim shows that shading from PV systems can improve agricultural yields, especially in dry periods, but additional research is needed.

Germany installed around 3.7 GW of new PV systems in the first four months of 2023.

The State Research Institute for Viticulture and Pomiculture (LVWO) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, has started generating electricity and cultivating berries in a pilot plant. Separately, a project combining agrivoltaics with apple cultivation in Austria has also shown promising initial results.

Qcells says it is building a pilot line for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells that will start operations later this year in South Korea. It is working closely with its team in Germany, where it has already established another pilot line for tandem cells.

German startup Solarnative has invested €1 million ($ 1.07 million) in a surface-mount technology production line for its new microinverter plant in Germany. It says it plans to ramp up microinverter production from May.

German scientists have built a tandem perovskite-CIGS panel measuring 9 square centimeters, with organometallic perovskites for the top module.

Badenova is installing 912 glass-glass PV modules along a cycling path in the city of Freiburg, Germany, as part of a new pilot project.

Axpo said its new 2.2 MW system is the largest alpine solar plant in Switzerland. It is expected to supply around 3.3 million kWh of electricity per year, with an above-average electricity yield in the winter months.