Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), demonstrated scientific and technical solar energy expertise at the 8th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-8) in Milan, Italy. QEERI presented as a Gold Sponsor of the event, which is the world’s biggest platform for photovoltaic (PV) research and development.

As part of efforts to share knowledge and expand the reach of its scientists and their research, QEERI succeeded in taking part in many scientific events in 2022, including the five-day WCPEC-8 conference through its booth, in addition to participating in different parallel sessions on “PV Productivity Challenges and Solutions in Desert Environments”, which focused on optimizing solar PV for desert conditions. Dr. Veronica Bermudez, Senior Research Director, QEERI; Dr. Juan Lopez-Garcia, Principal Investigator and Research Program Director, QEERI; and several other QEERI experts spoke at the sessions, including Dr. Antonio Sanfilippo, Chief Scientist, Dr. Ben Figgis, Research Program Manager.

Dr. Marc Vermeersch, Executive Director, QEERI, gave a talk entitled “From Idea to Products: Lessons Learned and Potential Hurdles for New Technologies”. Dr. Vermeersch drew on personal professional experience and the strategic decisions made to lead QEERI and steer it towards a market-driven, applied research mandate.

WCPEC-8 presented an opportunity for QEERI’s solar energy experts to meet with industry experts and peer researchers to showcase the work at the Energy Center, including different PV related programs and projects. QEERI experts chaired as well as participated as speakers at several sessions while Dr. Lopez-Garcia and Dr. Bermudez were members of the Scientific Committee.

In further contributions, Dr. Bermudez was on the “Women Leading PV Research” panel, which discussed the challenges and obstacles, lessons learned and the success stories of female leaders in PV research. She also took part in a roundtable that highlighted global challenges facing companies in PV production, from the perspective of high-level representatives of the PV industry.

Dr. Amir A. Abdallah, Scientist, spoke at the session “Highlighting Successful Solar Research Programs in Emerging Countries”. Speakers reflected on solar research in developing and emerging countries, and featured advanced solar research projects in the Middle East. For his part, Dr. Abdallah presented QEERI’s various initiatives, including the collaborative Solar Consortium, which are accelerating the renewable energy transition in Qatar and the region.

Commenting on the event, Dr. Vermeersch said: “The conference provided a much-needed opportunity for QEERI experts to be part of scientific engagement with other eminent researchers and industrialists in the field of solar photovoltaics worldwide. We were also able to showcase the solar energy projects being executed here in Qatar and results achieved to date. Our participation at this global forum, as sponsors and thought leaders, gave visibility to the cutting-edge research that distinguishes QEERI as the best national and international applied- and market-driven research center in energy, water, and environment in arid and hyper-arid regions.”