EUPI-PV Conference 2026

Solar PV Innovation: Investing to Deliver a Secure and Competitive EU

The EUPI-PV Conference 2026 aims to provide an answer on how to maximise the impact of EU efforts to support PV innovation in reaching high level EU policy objectives and progressing towards the strategic priorities of the PV sector.

It will bring together PV industry, researchers, and policymakers to address the pivotal role of solar PV innovation in advancing EU competitiveness, security and strategic autonomy. Against the backdrop of evolving industrial and competitiveness priorities, the conference will explore how investing in innovation for solar PV, the structuring energy technology of energy system in the coming decades can actively contribute to achieving the EU’s policy objectives of energy independence and strengthened industrial competitiveness.

The conference will notably explore the tangible impact of specific upcoming European regulatory framework on these broader objectives, notably the revision of the FP10 and ETS Frameworks, recognised as key regulatory structures for integrating cutting-edge innovation into the European solar PV market. Participants will examine how these frameworks support the EU’s ambitions to deliver a secure, competitive, and resilient energy system, reinforcing the Union’s capacity to lead in clean technology while safeguarding its economic and strategic interests in continued global cooperation.

As part of the mission of the EUPI-PV to support increased efforts towards innovation and market uptake in the solar PV sector, the conference will notably aim to address the missing link between public R&I programmes and market access at different points of the PV value chain, providing insights on how to improve the risk profile of different forms of PV innovation for investors.

Conference Programme:

9:00-9:30 – Welcome & registration

9:30-10:30 – Opening Session

Rutger Schlatmann - Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Chairman ETIP PV, EUPI-PV Partnership Board chair

Krzysztof Kuik - Director Clean Planet, DG RTD European Commission

Adel el Gammal - Secretary General, EERA

Simon Bennett - Head of Energy Innovation, IEA (tbc)

10:30-11:30 – EUPI-PV Project session

Paola Mazzucchelli - Coordinator, CIRCE, presenting Sunvibe

Øyvind Nielsen CZ-Tech AS, presenting EuroCz

11:30-12:30 – Session 1: ETIP PV Vision 2050 — "The Solar Era: Imagining Europe's Energy and Economy for 2050"

Exploring the pathway to accomplish the ETIP PV Vision to 2050, in light of mounting challenges to strategic autonomy and competitiveness, and how key policies such as FP10 can guide to the right pathway. The session will focus on the articulation between long term perspectives for PV technology development and short term measures to guarantee competitiveness.

Moderator: Delfina, Munoz - Vice-Chair, ETIP PV

Speakers:

Ivan Gordon - Chair, EERA JP PV

Pia Alina Lange - Trinasolar

Lucas Weiss - Voltec

Maria Getsiou - Policy Officer, European Commission

12:30-13:30 – Lunch break

13:30-15:00 – Session 2: What does it take to run a power system with photovoltaics at its core?

If one were to design from scratch a power system that runs entirely on renewables, it would no doubt look very differently from the current one. Yet despite the fact the photovoltaics alone was the largest single source of electricity in the EU in June 2025, technical and market measures to further its “integration” in the system still rely on the implicit assumption that it is a marginal source, making the electricity market particularly exposed to external disruption in energy import supply chains. This mismatch creates a risk for the stability of the system, and is a challenge for the economics of PV. The conference will challenge the assumption to offer future-proof directions for the system. This session will notably explore the new parket roles and services of solar PV and storage systems, relevant grid protection and dynamic operations to implement and PV contribution to grid resilience and robustness.

Moderator: Pierre-Jean Alet - CSEM

Speakers:

Walburga Hemetsberger - CEO, SolarPower Europe

Nacho Ansejo - Policy Officer, European Commission

Daniel Pombo - Hybrid power plants & systems, EPRI

15:00-15:30 – Lunch break

15:30-17:00 – Session 3: Bankable by Design: How Funding Innovation will Define Solar's Economic Future

Reliability is the missing financial infrastructure. Investors price uncertainty, which means that financing is more expensive for PV plants which cannot guarantee an output, making reliability a crucial factor of bankability. Every innovation that reduces performance uncertainty directly reduces the risk premium and unlocks cheaper capital. For the PV sector where new technologies continuously enter the market to replace or add to existing ones, it is crucial to provide clear signals to investors as to the reliability of these innovations in order to allow them to scale up. This is the direct line between R&D and bankability. This session will explore these topics, how new technologies come to market and how they can demonstrate their reliability and bankability in the perspective of long lived investments.

Moderator: David Moser - Managing Director, Becquerel Institute

Speakers:

Massimo Mazzer - Italian National Research Council

Christian Breyer - LUT University