EU PVSEC 2026 welcomed more than 1,400 participants from 54 countries to Rotterdam – proof that the global PV community keeps finding common ground, wherever the conference travels. Delegates joined from as far afield as South Korea, Japan and the United States, while Germany and the host country, the Netherlands, topped the country ranking side by side with 256 participants each, followed by France, Spain and Italy.

Across the week, the programme delivered more than 1,000 presentations in total: 343 plenary and oral talks, 470 visual presentations, 105 Parallel Events and 47 Industry Summit sessions – framed by four panel discussions bringing together 28 panellists on stage.

Check out the full Post Event Report

This year’s scientific programme spanned the full PV value chain, showcasing several world-record results and strong momentum across established and emerging technologies. Crystalline silicon remained at the heart of the field, with TOPCon and heterojunction technologies advancing alongside a growing focus on reliability and long-term performance. Perovskite and tandem solar cells continued their rapid progress, with efficiency gains increasingly matched by work on stability, scalability and manufacturing readiness.

At module and system level, the agenda ranged from circularity and copper metallisation to agrivoltaics, floating PV and building- and vehicle-integrated PV, while battery storage, flexibility and smart grid management took centre stage as ever-larger volumes of solar power enter the grid. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence featured throughout – from design and forecasting to fault detection and automated operation and maintenance – underlining a growing “PV for AI and AI for PV” theme running through the week.

“PV provides abundant electricity, accounting for more than 10% of the world electricity demand. The next stage of the growing market is to make sure the electricity is available where and when it is needed by focusing on the grid and flexibility enablers. This way we achieve PV everywhere and PV whenever.”

Wilfried van Sark, EU PVSEC 2026 General Chair, Utrecht University

One of the definitive highlights of the week was the awarding of the prestigious Alexander Edmond Becquerel Prize to Dr Delfina Muñoz (CEA/INES), in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the advancement of photovoltaics. Congratulations, Delfina!

But there were more scientific highlights worthy of prizes: In the Closing Session these contributions were recognized with sixteen Poster Awards and six Student Awards. Congratulations to all the winners!

The week also marked the launch of the EU PVSEC Observatory of Photovoltaic Research, presented by WIP Renewable Energies. The Observatory will systematically analyse the scientific knowledge generated at EU PVSEC, identify emerging research trends and signals, and strengthen the link between research, industry and policy. Its forthcoming reports will provide an ongoing view of where PV research is heading.

Ahead of the EU PVSEC, the PV Academy once again brought researchers, students and industry professionals together in Rotterdam for a day of in-depth learning. This year’s programme covered three very different corners of the PV world: space photovoltaics – from lab-based qualification to on-orbit deployment, artificial intelligence applications across the PV value chain and product life cycle, and the modelling of PV and battery energy storage systems for grid integration.

A big thank you to our speakers for sharing their expertise so generously, and to everyone who joined the sessions and made the day such a lively exchange of ideas.

For those who could not attend – or who want to revisit a session – the good news is that recordings will be made freely available on the PV Academy homepage. Videos will be released gradually over the coming months, so keep an eye out and check back regularly.

Relive the atmosphere of EU PVSEC 2026 through our growing photo collection on Flickr. New photos are still being added regularly, capturing memorable moments from across the conference, exhibition, and networking events.

Join the conversation on social media and share your own EU PVSEC 2026 highlights. Tag us @EUPVSEC and use the official hashtags #EUPVSEC and #EUPVSEC2026 to connect with the community and keep the spirit of the event alive.

Rotterdam may be behind us, but there is already a new chapter on the horizon for the global PV community. From 16 to 19 November, WIP Renewable Energies – organiser of the EU PVSEC – partners with RE+ Events to launch the brand-new RE+ Tech & Innovation Forum, a dedicated two-day programme taking place during RE+ 26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North America’s largest clean energy event.

Designed to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world deployment, the Forum brings together applied researchers, technology innovators, industry leaders and market stakeholders around technically rigorous, market-focused content on emerging solutions in photovoltaics and energy storage. Sessions are built around some of the sector’s most pressing themes: operation and maintenance of solar and storage assets, grid stability and resiliency, tandem solar technologies, AI applications in clean energy, and long-duration energy storage. Each two-hour block opens with a welcome and keynote, moves through a series of in-depth presentations, and closes with a panel discussion – bringing European scientific rigour together with the pace of the North American market.

It’s a fitting next chapter for a community that just spent a week pushing PV innovation forward in Rotterdam – and a chance to carry that momentum across the Atlantic.

Looking ahead: following Rotterdam, the EU PVSEC will return to Germany. The 45th edition will take place from 20 to 24 September 2027 in Freiburg, long known as Germany's "Solar Capital" and one of the sunniest cities in the country – with a long tradition in solar energy and the energy transition, and part of a region that is home to one of Europe's strongest ecosystems for PV research and innovation. A fitting home for the next chapter of the EU PVSEC.

Announcing the host city this early gives our community time to start planning ahead. We look forward to sharing more details on the 2027 edition in the coming months – for now, save the date and stay tuned!