FME SOLAR is a national research center for solar power, focusing on photovoltaics (PV). It is jointly funded by the Research Council of Norway and our partners. FME SOLAR is dedicated to supporting the broad PV industry, the public sector and society in Norway by providing competence and cutting edge R&D in this very important field.
FME SOLAR, also known as the Norwegian PV Research Centre, is funded by the Research Council of Norway and its many partners from research, industry and the public sector. The centre is hosted by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). FME SOLAR will be in operation from 2024 until 2032 with a total budget exceeding 300 MNOK.
FME SOLAR performs R&D targeting the main challenges associated with the extremely rapid growth in the use of PV worldwide. The research topics include digitalization to support accelerated deployment and integration of PV power plants, the role, performance, reliability and impact of PV power plants operating under Nordic conditions, integration of PV systems, sustainable production and recycling of PV materials, as well as new applications and disruptive technologies.
Education is a key activity in FME SOLAR, and the centre aims at educating 20 PhD candidates and post.docs, as well as 100 M.Sc candidates.
Important Challenges
Sustainability and circularity
With more than 1 billion PV modules installed every year, sustainability is becoming increasingly important. FME SOLAR addresses both sustainability in production and installation, as well as recycling of PV materials and components.
Supporting accelerated deployment of PV power plants
For the PV industry to continue on its growth trajectory, digital tools supporting development, deployment, operations and maintenance, as well as integration of a rapidly growing number of PV power plants worldwide is a focus area in FME SOLAR.
Photovoltaics here, there, everywhere?
FME SOLAR will investigate the opportunities and challenges related to the deployment of PV power plants of all sizes through improved integration in buildings and infrastructure, co-use of land and water, as well as in new environments. Public acceptance is required for further upscaling and is an important aspect of the FME SOLAR research.
The research at FME SOLAR spans a broad range of topics, from investigating solar cell materials to using large datasets for optimizing power plant maintenance. The work is structured into seven Work Packages (WPs).
