Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS)

Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) is Singapore’s solar energy research institute, established at NUS in 2008, leading frontier research and industry-relevant R&D, with a strong focus on real-world deployment. Its research addresses the specific deployment challenges of solar PV systems in Singapore and other mega-cities such as space constraints, complex planning (shading, glare) and, for Singapore, also the tropical climate conditions. Around 100 researchers work across more than 3,000 square metres of laboratory space.

SERIS' distinctive contribution answers Singapore's hardest solar constraint: lack of land available for large-scale solar deployment. Therefore, research concentrates on approaches that make multiple use of limited space — building-integrated PV, floating solar, agrivoltaics combining panels with crop production, and solar canopies over large infrastructures (car parks, flood canals). This is supported by SERIS’ leading research on ultra-high-efficiency solar technologies for maximising space utilisation.

Some of the key innovations by SERIS include the first screen-printed TOPCon solar cell, several world records for perovskite single- and multi-junction solar cells, the colourful Peranakan BIPV modules, the world's largest floating solar testbed at Tengeh Reservoir (in collaboration with PUB and EDB), and a fully operational solar forecasting system for Singapore’s power system operations centre.