PV2+ GmbH is a deep-tech spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

PV2+ has developed a patented solution to considerably reduce the cost of high efficiency solar cells, whilst enhancing their performance and sustainability by utilizing abundant copper instead of silver for the solar cell contacts.

We are currently working with industry partners to commercialize this innovation.

Abundant Copper for solar power in abundance

Solar is scaling faster than ever, but its core manufacturing is hitting a structural limit.

While PV has become the lowest-cost source of electricity globally, the industry is constrained by a critical bottleneck: its dependence on silver. At the same time, rising material costs, new regulation such as the Net Zero Industry Act, and growing momentum to develop regional manufacturing hubs are redefining how solar manufacturing must evolve.

PV2+ enables the next generation of solar manufacturing – silver-free, cost-efficient and scalable.

The silver issue

Solar is scaling faster than ever, but its core manufacturing is hitting a structural limit. While PV has become the lowest-cost source of electricity globally, the industry faces a critical bottleneck: its dependence on silver. Silver has already been classified as a critical mineral by both the US and China due to its immense industrial importance, global demand exceeds supply, and with silver accounting for 25-30% of solar cell manufacturing costs, rising prices are putting severe pressure on margins across the industry. Without a solution, silver scarcity will increasingly constrain the solar industry's ability to scale.

Silver is no longer just a cost factor – it is a strategic risk for the entire industry.

The PV2+ solution

PV2+ solves the silver problem by replacing it with copper, in a way that is industrially viable today. Our patented process enables silver-free metallization using copper electroplating, with no photolithography required, and a resist-free aluminium mask technology as its core innovation. Unlike other copper approaches, PV2+ is designed for mass manufacturing, not just lab performance, and is simpler and cheaper to integrate than existing alternatives. Manufacturers switching to PV2+ can expect:

Savings of €4–6.5M per GW per year vs. silver-based production
Payback period of under one year
Compatibility with all major cell architectures (TOPCon, Back Contact, HJT) as well as next-generation tandem cells
Lower total cost of ownership compared to alternative copper approaches

The technology is already seeing first applications in Low Earth Orbit, making PV2+ relevant not just for ground-based solar but for the emerging space solar market as well.

China represents a massive market opportunity for PV2+, while the Net Zero Industry Act is simultaneously opening up a fast-growing European manufacturing market. PV2+ is well positioned to serve both.

Our business model is asset-light: we scale through technology licensing (~€3M per GW), recurring revenue from proprietary consumables, and process integration services, without building factories ourselves.