Study on impacts of EU actions supporting the development of renewable energy

technologies

Solar PV R&D Study FindingsPresented on 14/11/2018 in Brussels

Contents

•Historical R&D funding

•Research effectiveness

•Key impacts of EU Framework Programme Funding

•Conclusions

Historical R&D funding

Framework programme

Solar PV Solar PV and other RES

EU funding

(M EUR)

Number of

projects

EU funding

(M EUR)

Number of

projects

FP5 120 101 3 6

FP6 127 47 - -

FP7 418 198 15 7

H2020 - up to mid-March 2018 161 116 6 3

Total EU funding 826 462 24 16

EU FP R&D funding

• Funding increased considerably from FP7 onwards

• H2020 funding period not completed yet, but already > FP5-FP6

Source: Cordis, 2018

Funding converted to 2016 Euros

Comparison to other sectors

• Solar PV received 23% of total €3.6 billion

• Lower share in the first years of H2020 (around 17%) Vs. FP5-6-7 (25%)

Source: Cordis, 2018

H2020 not for full funding period

Funding per sub-technology

• Thin film technologies received most funding

• Increased funding for 3rd generation and novel concepts in FP7/ H2020

• FPs answered to the needs of the EU PV industry & research community

Source: Cordis, 2018

Multiple RES technologies

Innovative installations

Recycling

PV system and components

BIPV

O&M

Industry & Technology support

Concentration PV

Novel concepts

Crystalline silicon

Third generation

Thin film technologies

Million EUR2016

Solar PV EU funding per sub-technology/area (2016 Million Euro)

FP5 FP6 FP7 H2020

68 projects

99 projects

78 projects

49 projects

Funding at MS level

• Increased MS funding from 2009 onwards

• Highest R&D budgets in Germany, France, NL and Italy

Source: IEA/OECD, 2018

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Mill

ion EU

R20

16

Annual MS R&D funding in the EU for solar PV

EU28

Funding at MS level

• Solar PV received 24% of total MS funding for RES between 1995 and 2015 (No. 1 RE technology)

• In recent years, due to the decline of EU PV industry, most EU funding has gone to RTD centres

Source: IEA/OECD, 2018

30-35%25-26%

20%

International comparison

• Combined EU FP and MS funding at world leading level

EU: MS + EU FPs

No data available for ChinaSource: OECD/IEA (2018)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Million E

UR

2016

Comparison of international R&D funding for solar PV

EU Japan Australia Korea United States

Research effectiveness

Patents

• Peak in 2011, then downward trend

• Number of patents linked to the position of companies in the value chain

• EU losing companies and market share in the upstream PV value chain EU patent registrations losing ground to strong growth from China

• No correlation between R&D funding and patent applications

Source: IRENA INSPIRE (2017)

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

No.

of

pate

nts

file

d

Evolution of solar PV patents filed by EU countries

No. of patents filed by EU28 EU share of global (%)

• Strong growth in solar PV publications by EU authors

• EU funded projects generated 319+ publications between 1995-2017 and supported top publishing organisations

Publications (1/2)

Source: Web of Science (2018)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Share

of glo

bal

No. of

publicati

ons

Evolution of solar PV publications by EU countries

No. of publications by EU countries EU share of global

Publications (2/2)

• EU maintained academic leadership in solar PV technologies, China and USA follow closely

• Clear relationship between RTD funding and number of publications (4 years of shift)

• EU funding plays an important role in maintaining academic leadership

Source: Web of Science (2018)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Share

of

glo

bal

publicati

ons (%

)

Comparison of the share of solar PV global publications between key countries

EU's share of global USA's share of global

China's share of global South Korea's share of Global

Other outputs of R&D funding

• EU FP funding contributes to much more than patents and publications

• Other key impacts are increased knowledge transfer, public-private knowledge development and cost reductions

Source: Questionnaire conducted

as part of the study

Cost reductions

• Strong cost reductions (CAPEX) over the last decades

• Historical learning rate (LR) was 22,8% at the end of 2017, with > 400 GW installed. If only 2006-2017, LR = 39,1%.

Source: NREL (2015) and

IRENA (2018)

Source: IRPV (2018))

Cost reductions

• LCOE driven by CAPEX, OPEX reductions and durability, efficiency, PR improvements.

• LCOE now competitive with other electricity sources

Source: NREL (2015) and

IRENA (2018)

Installed capacity

• Strong growth from 2007/2008 onwards

• Traditionally driven by favourable support schemes.

• With current levels of CAPEX, and PV electricity prices (LCOE), driver is the profitability in large PV plants.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Ele

ctr

ical capacit

y (M

We)

Installed electrical capacity of solar PV plants in the EU

EU28 Source: Eurostat (2018)

Industry turnover

• Peak of EUR 45 billion in 2011 (EU) and strong decline since 2012

• Reasons: fierce competition from China, reduction in EU installed capacity, bad financial experiences of investors

Source: EurObserv’ER

reports (2010-2017)

Key impacts of EU Framework Programme funding

Crystalline silicon

• Development of innovative crystalline silicon cells and modules, characterised by low-cost, high-efficiency and reduced materials consumption

• Based on, for example:• novel methods for production of solar-grade silicon feedstock

• ultra-thin wafers and cells

• heterojunction (HJT) solar cells

• passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) technology

• Project examples: • Novel methods for low cost solar-grade silicon production: SOLSILC (FP5),

SPURT (FP5), SISI (FP6), FOXY (FP6) and SOLSILC DEMO (FP6)

• Cost-cutting of crystalline silicon PV modules through thinner wafers: CRYSTALCLEAR (FP6), R2M-SI (FP7), 20PLµS (FP7), CHEETAH (FP7)

• Novel very high-efficiency c-Si PV cells : HETSI (FP7), HERCULES (FP7), DISC and AMPERE (H2020)

Thin film

• Development and demonstration of more cost-effective, more efficient and reliable thin-film PV modules

• Based on, for example:• CIS/CIGS

• amorphous-, micro- and polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells.

• Project examples:• More efficient and less costly thin-film PV technologies: ATHLET (FP6)

• Flexible and low-cost CIGS solar cells: HIPOCIGS (FP7), and R2R-CIGS (FP7)

• Super high-efficiency CIGS PV cells: SHARC25 (H2020)

High-efficiency PV

• Exploration of high-efficiency PV, including concentrating PV and multi-junction cell approaches

• Utilising different semiconductor materials to better match the solar spectrum

• Project examples:• Concentrator PV systems: HICONPV (FP6), APOLLON (FP7) and NACIR

(FP7)

• Multi-junction solar cells: FULLSPECTRUM (FP6)

Next generation PV concepts

• Development and application of next generation PV concepts

• For example:• organic PV

• dye-sensitised solar cells

• nanotechnology-enabled novel materials

• perovskite solar cells

• Some of which have been first introduced thanks to European funding.

• Project examples:• More efficient and large-scale OPV: MOLYCELL (FP6) and X10D (FP7)

• Novel nanowire based high efficiency PV cells: NANOTANDEM (H2020)

• Taking perovskite PV towards market: CHEOPS (H2020)

System and downstream techn.

• Optimising the PV system and downstream PV technologies

• Such as• integration of PV technology into the grid

• PV energy management, including self-consumption, electricity storage.

• lifetime of PV systems

• aspects related to environmental sustainability and life-cycle costs of PV, including new approaches for recycling and reusing PV materials.

• Project examples:• Cost reductions through PV system design and operation: PVCROPS

(FP7) and PERFORMANCE PLUS (FP7)

• Recycling, recovering and reusing PV materials: CABRISS (H2020)

• Assessment of PV risks: SOLAR BANKABILITY (H2020)

Building sector

• Development and demonstration of novel PV products and solutions meeting the building sector requirements and market needs, contributing towards the net zero energy buildings concept

• EC funding has supported the wider market uptake of building integrated PV (BIPV) product concepts also by developing:• more cost-efficient production technologies

• flexible aesthetical designs

• solutions for smart interaction with the grid

• new business models and standards

• Project examples:• Towards BIPV market uptake: PVSITES (H2020)

• BIPV glazing products: ADVANCED-BIPV (H2020)

Manufacturing technologies

• Examples include: • Automated machinery: CABRISS

• Novel processing: CRYSTALCLEAR, CHEETAH and 20PLµS

• New manufacturing technologies for CIGS: R2M-SI

Collaboration and knowledge transfer

• EU funded projects such as MOLYCEL (FP6) and CHEETAH (FP7) brought solar PV stakeholders together

• Industry involvement in EU funded projects fostered public/private knowledge development

• EU has supported the establishment and consolidation of the activities of the European Technology and Innovation Platform Photovoltaics, and the EERA Joint Programme Photovoltaic Solar Energy

Conclusions

• The EU has world leading R&D budgets for solar PV and has been successful in establishing and maintaining a leading academic position

• The EC R&D funding has timely and efficiently supported the development of different PV technologies such as c-si, thin film, high efficiency PV and next generation PV

• When facing the decline of the PV industry in Europe, the EC activities have contributed towards the development of new opportunities for the EU industry by focusing on less mass-produced and higher value added products

• The EC activities have been especially important for enabling collaboration among the EU research actors, between research institutes and industry, and among different industrial companies along the PV value chain