The HIPERION consortium has been assembled to answer the call LC-SC3-RES-15-2019: Increase the competitiveness of the EU PV manufacturing industry. The goal of the project is to bring to fruition at the industrial scale a validated high efficiency module-level innovation, based on a disruptive planar optical micro-tracking technology, which concentrates sunlight on multijunction solar cells, mounted on top of a conventional silicon backplate. The resulting high efficiency solar modules (>30% STC under direct sunlight) with a standard flat panel form factor can be mounted on any standard racks or rooftops. The technology has been extensively demonstrated with outdoor tests and pilot installations. It must be now industrialized for mass production, to enable its integration by manufacturers in their existing production lines. The project will demonstrate at pilot-line level the assembly of these high efficiency modules, while several commercial pilot sites across Europe and qualification tests will further validate the performance and reliability. To achieve successfully this 48-month, 13 M€ valued action, a consortium of 16 members representing 9 European countries has been gathered. It includes several industrial players with the key expertise to develop the assembly processes, and some of the most renown European PV centers with strong know-how on design and qualification. A solar manufacturer will do a detailed economical evaluation on the integration of the technology in the production line, while several solar installers will represent both the rooftop and utility end markets. With its novel module architecture and innovative manufacturing processes, HIPERION has the potential to drastically reduce solar electricity costs by significantly boosting the efficiency. It could allow EU PV manufacturers to gain a clear competitive advantage against mainstream solar modules and to regain market shares on the growing PV market.

GRECO proposal faces the specific challenge of putting Open Science into action in a research project concerning Photovoltaic (PV) Energy Research. Photovoltaics is a realistic R&D area in which to set up and operationalize an Open Science demonstrator. By adopting the model of RRI, definitively we will demonstrate how increased endorsement of PV technology will increase utilization and integration of PV technology into the electric energy supply system. GRECO proposes RRI solutions to increase PV technology useful life, reduce its cost through increased performance and, demonstrate novel competitive solutions in agriculture and buildings. These targets will be met by providing 6 responsible and innovative solutions. The project brings together several expertise from many areas of knowledge in a coalition among all stakeholders of the quadruple helix representing three continents in a research project with research lines at different Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). The project duration is of 3 years. GRECO is a double OPEN proposal: on one hand this proposal will be open after the evaluation process in order to facilitate Cross-Fertilization with the project in Swafs-10-2017 call that is finally granted, and on the other, it is open to the engagement of citizens, civil society and stakeholders, embedding an MML plan and two Open Innovation actions. How are we going to put into practice OPEN and RRI in GRECO proposal? Our scheme implies Open Science in all its dimensions including Citizen Science. Basically it includes Open Science and RRI approaches in all stages of a research project -planning, evaluation, action and closing- by considering different actions that will ensure an active participation from all relevant stakeholders included the civil society and citizens, to guide in the development of innovative solutions, and to guarantee the future acceptance of the research results.