Ten years of Next2Sun: Solar Revolution celebrates a successful anniversary!

Ten years of Next2Sun: Solar Revolution celebrates a successful anniversary!

On August 30, 2025, a ceremony took place at the Merzig-Wellingen Agri-Solar Park to mark the tenth anniversary of the Next2Sun Group. Around 250 guests from politics, business and society gathered to celebrate the company's successes. Among them was the Saarland Environment Minister Petra Berg. Since its founding in 2015, Next2Sun has made a name for itself in the energy transition by developing innovative photovoltaic systems.

Next2Sun's technology impresses with its vertical orientation of the modules, which offers numerous advantages. This not only enables efficient electricity generation at off-peak times, it also helps to preserve agricultural land. Next2Sun is considered an inventor and technology leader in vertical bifacial photovoltaics, which generates higher energy yields in the morning and evening hours when demand for electricity is particularly high.

Innovations in Agri-Photovoltaics

As part of the anniversary, board member Heiko Hildebrandt emphasized the global recognition that vertical bifacial photovoltaics has received. Sascha Krause-Tünker highlighted Next2Sun's positive future position, despite the challenges facing the solar industry. The company has established itself as a pioneer in the field of agri-photovoltaics, where agriculture and energy production are merged.

Agri-photovoltaics combines agricultural production with renewable energy production on the same land. Supported by Federal Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Federal Minister Cem Özdemir, a new guide offers comprehensive information about the possibilities, advantages and current technology status of Agri-PV. This technology enables more efficient land use and can significantly reduce water consumption in agriculture.

The advantages of agri-PV are remarkable: it offers stable and additional sources of income for agricultural businesses and increases their resilience to crop failures. The electricity production costs vary between 7 and 12 euro cents per kWh, which makes Agri-PV a competitive solution. The guide also provides information about successful application examples as well as hurdles and challenges that need to be overcome in Germany.

Research and Development

In addition, the Agri-PV area is being driven forward by innovative research projects. The startup “feld.energy” and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have put a research facility into operation in Dürnast. The aim of this facility is to use agricultural land for both food production and electricity generation. This practical research aims to demonstrate the benefits of agri-PV for sustainable energy production and income security for farmers.

At the opening, representatives from TUM and Feld Energy emphasized the importance of integrated solutions for agriculture and energy supply. The concept envisages that farmers can earn over 3,500 euros annually per megawatt of installed capacity using this technology without having to accept any losses in agricultural use. The technology thus makes an active contribution to reducing water consumption and increasing resilience to crop failures.

Fraunhofer ISE sees a potential of up to 2,900 gigawatts of installed agri-PV capacity in Germany, which illustrates the enormous relevance of this technology for future energy supply and agricultural practice.

At Next2Sun's anniversary celebration, which had the motto “Feel the energy”, guests received practical insights during guided tours of the solar park. Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Gunter Erfurt emphasized the need for reliable political framework conditions in order to further secure the future of these promising technologies.

For further information: ÖkoNews reports on Next2Sun; Fraunhofer ISE provides information about agri-photovoltaics; Renewable energies shed light on research.