Energy Materials and Fuel Cell Research

Biography

Winfried Hoffmann studied solid state physics, diploma in superconductivity and finished with a PhD-thesis in biophysics (laser flash photolysis). He started his industrial career in 1979 at NUKEM/RWE in the area of CdS/Cu2S – Thin-Film solar cells and modules, amorphous Silicon as well as Dye Solar Cells. In the mid-1980s and 90s a pilot production for MIS-inversion layer c-Si solar cells and large area modules was put in operation. From 1994 he served as Managing Director to "Angewandte Solarenergie - ASE GmbH" (JV DASA and RWE). In the same year the acquisition of 100 % shares of Mobil Solar as a subsidiary company was done with special focus on their developed ribbon EFG technology. In the late 90s the company was renamed RWE Solar and was one of the worldwide 5 biggest production companies. The first inline PE-CVD machines for SiN were developed and built in these years. In 2007 he joined Applied Materials to become Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of the Solar Business Group and member of the Management Board of the German based Applied Materials GmbH. For many years he was member in the supervisory board of listed companies (SMA Solar Technology AG and SolarFabrik AG) and was also active in numerous Research Institutes (FhG-ISE, ISFH, Helmholtz Center Berlin, ZSW, and DLR). He served many years in solar associations in order to convince politics to support the PV market development (German BSW Solar and European EPIA, now SolarPower Europe). Since 2011 he gives lectures about Renewable Energy at the universities Konstanz and Freiburg. In 2012 he received the John Bonda prize from EPIA and the prestigious “European Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics” from the European Commission. The World Renewable Energy Network (WREN) awarded him as “Solar Pioneer” in 2014.

Research Interest

- Photovoltaics - Batteries - Renewable Energies