The smarter E Podcast - for and with the creators of the new energy world. Our podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our host Jonathan Gifford welcome and interview personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. Every week on Thursday with a new episode!
Pathways to perovskite commercialization emerge – with Fabian Fertig and Frank Mu
Perovskite solar cells have promised to push photovoltaic efficiency to new heights for years. Now, with major manufacturers achieving crucial reliability milestones and the first large-format modules entering large-scale production, the technology is moving beyond the laboratory. But as the race to bring perovskites to market accelerates, a fundamental question remains: will production processes deliver on cost, efficiency, and durability?
This week, host Jonathan Gifford speaks with two leading manufacturers pursuing different approaches to perovskite-silicon tandem solar technology at the Perovskite Connect 2026 event in Berlin.
First, Fabian Fertig, head of R&D PV technology at Qcells, discusses the company's breakthrough in achieving independent certification for its two-terminal tandem modules – a significant step towards commercial viability. Fertig explains why reliability, rather than record-breaking efficiency, has been the real challenge, and how Qcells is preparing to scale production to gigawatt scale.
But the best route to commercialization is not yet locked in.
Frank Mu, head of sales Europe at GCL Perovskite, makes the case for the four-terminal approach to tandem modules. With GCL already delivering its first large-scale orders in China, Mu explains why the company believes its architecture offers advantages in manufacturing scalability, material stability, and real-world performance. He also discusses the practical challenges of bringing these modules to market, from simplifying electrical connections to overcoming moisture-related failures and proving long-term durability.
With two industry heavyweights backing competing technologies, the race is about both high conversion efficiency alongside reliability, and manufacturing an affordable product that can be supplied at scale. And if perovskites can meet those demands, the next major transformation of the solar industry may happen faster than many expect.
✉️ Questions, comments or suggestions? Reach us at podcast@thesmartere.com
15 Oct 2026
New policy reforms could shrink Germany’s solar market – with David Wortmann and Salomé Perperot
Germany helped pioneer the political frameworks that made solar a global success. But with daytime electricity prices falling, solar companies under pressure, and significant policy reforms taking shape, could the impressive solar and battery installation rates of recent years slow dramatically?
This week, host Jonathan Gifford speaks with David Wortmann, founder and CEO of Berlin-based consultancy DWR eco, about the proposed overhaul of Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG). The reforms could fundamentally change the financial returns that solar projects can deliver, with support for residential and commercial rooftops set to shrink. But it’s not all one way; utility-scale tender volumes under the same reforms are likely to increase.
Wortmann argues that the main concern may be the speed of the reforms. As solar businesses are pushed towards self-consumption and market-based revenues, it appears that some are struggling to adapt. He discusses whether Germany can strike the right balance between rooftop and utility-scale solar without jeopardizing the country’s stated renewable-energy ambitions.
But as growing solar generation causes intraday power price spreads to grow, there are attractive opportunities for another technology: battery energy storage.
Recorded at the unveiling of a new battery manufacturing facility near Izmir, Turkey, Jonathan speaks with Salomé Perperot, senior consultant at Clean Horizon, about Europe's evolving battery storage economics. As lucrative ancillary service revenues give way to merchant trading opportunities, Perperot explains which markets look most attractive, and why securing even a small share of guaranteed revenue can be crucial to getting battery projects financed.
As both of these conversations demonstrate, generating more renewable electricity is only part of the challenge – the next test is finding the market structures, contracts, and policy settings that make it work.
✉️ Questions, comments or suggestions? Reach us at podcast@thesmartere.com
1 Oct 2026
The challenge in turning Europe’s PV research into an industrial reality – with Gaëtan Masson and Delfina Muñoz
Europe has some of the world’s best solar researchers and strongest local markets. So why is so much of the PV manufacturing happening somewhere else?
Recorded at the recent EU PVSEC scientific conference and exhibition in Rotterdam, host Jonathan Gifford explores this question with Gaëtan Masson, CEO of the Becquerel Institute and co-chair of the European Solar Manufacturing Council. They examine Europe’s increasingly unusual position within the energy transition: a major solar market with very little manufacturing of its own. Meanwhile, India, the U.S. and China are building enormous production capacity – often drawing on European research outcomes.
So, can Europe leverage its solar knowhow to rebuild its industry? Masson argues that European-level industrial policy is required – particularly if manufacturers are going to attract the investment needed to scale.
Jonathan also speaks with 2026 Becquerel Prize winner Delfina Muñoz, Research Director of the Solar Energy Department at CEA at INES. Much of Muñoz’s research has focused on the interfaces between the different layers of a solar cell – because even well-designed solar products can generate weak results if the layers within the PV cell don’t function efficiently together. It’s an idea that is becoming even more important with technologies such as perovskite-silicon tandems, where efficiency, degradation, and stability factors can all hinge on what happens at those interfaces.
As a board member of the European Solar Manufacturing Council, Muñoz is also working at another kind of interface: between academia, industry, and policymakers. Closing the gaps between these groups could assist Europe in contributing to the development of the next generation of PV technology – and manufacturing it.
✉️ Questions, comments or suggestions? Reach us at podcast@thesmartere.com
Inside a recent episode
TSEP#154 Double Down, Triple Up – The World Needs 3X Renewables
Published 19 Oct 2023 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The Global Renewables Alliance has actually been in the in the pipeline for some time. It was initially launched about a year ago at the COP27 in Egypt, but we really got going a few months ago with it. And it aims to be the single voice for the renewable energy industry at an international level. […]
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