A Brief Introduction: Prof. Peters, Holder of the New Chair in Sustainable Materials for Renewable Energy Conversion

Prof. Dr. Ian Marius Peters is a professor of Sustainable Materials for Renewable Energy Conversion in the Department of Materials Science at FAU. He also heads the Sustainable Photovoltaics division at the Institute for Photovoltaics (IMD-3) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

What is your research focus?

I’ve been thinking about how we can make photovoltaics truly sustainable. Solar energy will be one of the cornerstones of our future energy system. But with several terawatts of installed capacity, it’s no longer enough to simply make solar cells more efficient and cheaper. We also need to consider what materials we use, how long the modules last, and what happens to them at the end of their life cycle.

My research therefore combines photovoltaics, materials science, reliability, and recycling. A particular focus is on the development of solar cells and modules that are designed from the outset so that their materials can be recovered and reused—in other words, based on a true cradle-to-cradle approach.

Why this topic in particular?

Because “renewable” does not automatically mean “sustainable.”

Photovoltaics is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate electricity today, and we will be installing enormous amounts of it in the coming decades. However, this means it will itself become a major material-based technological system. If we choose the wrong materials, architectures, or production processes today, we will create problems that may not catch up with us until 20 or 30 years from now.

Photovoltaics are already significantly more sustainable than conventional energy sources, but even photovoltaics are not yet circular. That is why I am fascinated by the idea of viewing sustainability not as an after-the-fact optimization, but as a design criterion. My vision is a solar technology in which materials do not become waste, but can be reused time and again across many generations of products.

What was your last stop before FAU?

It’s actually been a trip around the world. After completing my Ph.D. in Freiburg, I first worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, then spent several years at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore. After that, from 2014 to 2019, I was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S., where I worked on silicon photovoltaics and the development of future energy systems.

Since 2019, I have been conducting research at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies, a branch of the Jülich Research Center. I now head the Sustainable Photovoltaics division there. Many of the research questions I am currently exploring have emerged from these very diverse scientific environments.

What is your most useful professor tool?

A good conversation partner.

Most of my ideas arise through discussion. I develop my thoughts best when I discuss them with others, question them, and examine them from different angles. It is precisely these kinds of conversations that often give rise to new perspectives—and sometimes to the crucial question that becomes the basis for a research project. For me, therefore, science is fundamentally a collaborative thought process.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

As a child, I wanted to be a sailor.

Later, as a teenager and young adult, I wavered between physics and aerospace engineering. In the end, I chose physics—but my fascination with technology, discovery, and exploring uncharted territory has remained. Incidentally, my first career aspiration hasn’t completely disappeared either: I still sail today and have a sailing license.

When I’m not working as a professor, then …

… I like to be outdoors and on the go—hiking, scuba diving, or traveling. I’m particularly drawn to places where you see things that aren’t apparent in everyday life.

And with two children, you get regular opportunities to see the world from a completely different perspective anyway.

What have you always wanted to do?

To be honest, there isn’t just one thing.

There are so many things I’d like to experience, try out, or understand. This list is getting longer rather than shorter. I’m drawn to new places, new experiences, and things that are outside my comfort zone. This curiosity is probably one of the reasons I became a scientist.