News from EPFL-PVlab

Christophe Ballif wins ERC Synergy Grants for Ultimate PV

Published:07.11.25 — On 6th of November, the European Research council announced the selection of 66 ERC Synergy Grants for a total 684 m€ ! Fantastic news: our "Ultimate PV project", with EPFL PV-lab (Christophe Ballif) , Stefan Glunz at University of Freiburg, and Stéphane Collin at CNRS has been selected as one of the winning project 

Pierre Vandergheynst and Christophe Ballif win ERC Synergy Grants

Published:06.11.25 — The European Research Council announced on Thursday that School of Engineering professors Pierre Vandergheynst and Christophe Ballif have been awarded ERC Synergy Grants to tackle major scientific challenges.

La Doctorale – 10 Research Prizes reward EPFL Researchers

Published:30.10.25 — 10 young EPFL researchers have been rewarded for their research projects this year again. These prizes are offered by Foundations and EPFL.

Zeno Karl Schindler Award 2025 goes to Dr. Christian Wolff of PV-Lab

Published:28.10.25 — Congratulation to Christian for getting the prestigious Zeno-Karl Schindler Award 2025 (20’000 CHF) ZKS-EPFL – Zeno Karl Schindler Fondation during the “Doctorale 2025”, at the Forum Rolex on Oct. 27th Christian receives the award “For his multiple contributions to the field of perovskite and perovskite-silicon solar cells, allowing among others the first worldwide demonstration of tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells with over 30% efficiency, world record triple junction solar cells, as well as perovskite solar cells with remarkable stability. His achievements open key pathways for providing low-cost clean electricity beyond standard silicon solar cells”. Prix Zeno Karl Schindler – 2025 – Christian Wolff – EPFL

Best poster award in EU PVSEC 2025 Bilbao!

Published:29.09.25 — Big congratulations to Umang Desai from EPFL PV-lab for winning a Best Poster Award at #EUPVSEC2025 in Bilbao for his work on "Façade Application of Light-Weight Glass-Free Colored PV Modules: Reliability Testing of the Large-Format Modules and Monitoring of the Demonstration Site''. Moreover, the presentations of recently graduated Ph.D. students from EPFL, Hugo Quest and Kerem Artuk, were featured among the highlights of the conference. We are delighted that PV-Lab posters and presentations received recognition.

Perovskite-TOPCon tandems are catching up!

Published:17.09.25 — Our article “Over 31%-efficient perovskite–TOPCon solar cells enabled by AlOx-based hydrogenation and front sub-micron texturing” is now published in EES Solar. In this work, we demonstrate high-efficiency perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells using double-sided tunnel oxide passivated contacts (TOPCon2) bottom cells, achieving 30.2% efficiency on both sides flat and 31.3% on front-textured devices. The former is enabled by high passivation quality on flat surfaces and the latter by enhanced optical performance. These results highlight that TOPCon2 is a promising platform for scalable tandem integration beyond silicon heterojunction-based bottom cells.'

Paper alert: accelerating optimization of halide perovskites!

Published:27.08.25 — Our article “Accelerating optimization of halide perovskites: two blueprints for automation” is now published in Digital Discovery. We present HITSTA, an accelerated aging setup that not only speeds up stability testing but also provides insight into degradation mechanisms, and ROSIE, a robotic ink-mixing platform that standardizes and automates solution preparation for systematic, high-throughput studies. Together, these open-source and affordable tools pave the way for faster, more reproducible perovskite research. 

Check out our new article on leaner TOPCon solar cell fabrication !

Published:04.07.25 — Happy to share our new article 'Co-annealing of PECVD boron emitters and poly-Si passivating contacts for leaner TOPCon solar cell fabrication' is published in SOLMAT and also featured in PV Magazine. 

Light-Weight Colored Photovoltaic Modules Based on Composite Polymer

Published:20.06.25 — Can PV modules be LIGHTWEIGHT, GLASS-FREE, COLORED, and still survive hailstorms and accelerated environmental ageing? Happy to share our new article 'Novel Mechanically Robust and Environmentally Stable Light-Weight Colored Photovoltaic Modules Based on Composite Polymer Backsheets' is published in Solar RRL. 

Fantastic overview paper about BIPV in Nature Reviews Clean Tech !

Published:07.05.25 — Integrating photovoltaics into Building check the fantastic latest overview paper in Nature Clean Energy Reviews!