Franck Dimroth : the future of the solar energy

Franck Dimroth is a brilliant physicist who works on photovoltaics cells. Through his researches, he managed to convert more sunlight to electricity than many other solar cells, reaching a record efficiency of 41.1%.
Listen to Frank Dimroth, from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. He has just received the Louis D. foundation award 2010, one of the most prestigious French scientific prizes.

The young Doctor Franck Dimroth is working in the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, in Germany.
With his team, he has developed a “metamorphic triple-junction solar cell” : it can convert more sunlight to electricity than many other solar cells, reaching a record efficiency of 41.1%. To accomplish this, researchers created a multi-junction solar cell made of III-V compound semiconductors by stacking three single-junction cells on top of each other, each one particularly efficient in converting a limited spectral bandwidth of sunlight to electricity. The result : efficiency levels that nearly double the efficiency of conventional silicon-based solar cells.

The “Fondation Louis D” was established 10 years ago under the auspices of the Institut de France. The foundation presents a major science award each year, along with a major award for research in the humanitarian or cultural area.


For further information :

- Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg(in German and in Englsih)
- Institut de France, short biography (in French)