Lower Saxony as an extensive flatland has the second highest potential of all federal states to utilise solar energy. Solar energy can be used almost anywhere in small and large systems, is economically feasible for many applications already and is widely accepted by the population. For these reasons solar energy utilisation is expanding rapidly around the globe. Worldwide investments in solar energy production exceeded 100 billion dollars for the first time in 2017. This growing market also provides opportunities for companies from Lower Saxony; be it in the area of planning, erecting and operating solar energy systems, in manufacturing components to be used in solar energy systems or in mechanical engineering for production and inspection plants.
The EFZN line of research solar energy is covered by the Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH), an associated institute of the Leibniz University Hannover, and by researchers from the University of Technology Braunschweig, the Leibniz University Hannover as well as the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg. Application-driven solar research is characterised by intensive cooperation with industry. Central problems of solar energy research concern not only the further development of components for cost-efficient supply of renewable energy, but also the integration of solar energy into our energy system to ensure secure supply.