Scientist from Hameln honored with SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award

Individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the world of solar energy were honoured by SolarWorld AG this evening (September 25) during the EU PVSEC international congress in Frankfurt am Main. The company awarded the SolarWorld Einstein Awards to co-founder of SMA Günter Cramer and Molly and George Greene, founders of the U.S. American aid organization Water Missions International. The award for up-and-coming scientists went to physicist Dr. Bianca Lim of the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, Germany. The awards have now been presented for the eighth time.

On this occasion, the award is going to one of the pioneers in the field of renewable energies ‒Günter Cramer: Along with his partners, the electrical engineer nurtured a tiny start-up located in a bakery in Kassel, Germany, into a global company within 30 years. Today, SMA has over 5,500 employees and is the technology and market leader in solar inverters ‒a core piece of every solar power system.

A further prize was awarded for the first time to two U.S. Americans: Molly and George Greene use solar energy to power water treatment systems in developing countries and regions affected by catastrophe. Their aid organization Water Missions International has already implemented over 600 projects in 49 countries. Thanks to their dedication, child mortality, human exposure to parasites and the number of chronic illnesses have declined in numerous villages. It is estimated that 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water.

The SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award went to physicist Dr. Bianca Lim of the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hameln. For her dissertation, the 30-year-old studied the behaviour of boron-oxygen compounds, which lead to lower efficiency in solar cells. She was able to describe the phenomenon and develop a practical process with which to reduce the effect of these compounds.