Internship | Advancing Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells through Innovative Passivation Strategies

Make your mark on our time. Become an intern at TNO in the Internship | Advancing Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells through Innovative Passivation Strategies role.

• Location: Eindhoven
• Work arrangement: On-site
• Education level: Bachelor or Master
• Working hours: 32-40 hours/week

About this position

Perovskite solar cells are at the forefront of next-generation solar technology. Their high efficiencies make them ideal for tandem solar cells, combining perovskites with silicon to generate more clean energy from the same surface area.

At TNO, you'll help tackle one of the key challenges in this field: stability. In this internship, you will investigate different passivation strategies to improve the performance and lifetime of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.

Working alongside leading researchers, you will fabricate, characterize, and analyze solar cells, contributing directly to the development of more durable and commercially viable solar technologies. Your work will contribute to making high-efficiency tandem solar cells more reliable and ready for real-world deployment.

What will be your role?

As an intern, you’ll become an essential part of our innovation team. Your main mission:

Implement and evaluate different passivation materials to improve high-efficiency perovskite tandem solar cells.

You'll gain hands-on experience in:

• Fabricating and characterizing perovskite-based tandem solar cells
• Designing and running experiments to test and improve device performance
• Collaborating with leading scientists and engineers in an international, high-tech environment

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of solar power while building a strong foundation for your own career.

The internship duration is at least 3 months, with longer periods possible depending on project requirements and the candidate’s preference. Depending on your program of study, the project can be combined with a HBO-graduation assignment or a master’s thesis.

What we expect from you

Are you curious, driven, and excited by cutting-edge clean tech? Great! You might be just who we're looking for.

We expect you to:

• Be enthusiastic and eager to learn about photovoltaics and energy transition
• Enjoy experimental work and problem-solving
• Have good communication skills and work well both independently and in a team
• Be studying (applied) physics, chemistry, materials science or electrical engineering
• Be enrolled at a university or HBO institution during your internship (a must for eligibility)

What you'll get in return

An internship at TNO means working in an environment where substance and impact are central. You will become part of a knowledge organisation where research and practice come together, and where experts collaborate on solutions to current societal and technological challenges.

Your internship is a period in which you can discover what suits you, where your strengths lie and what you would like to learn next. You are part of a professional working environment, gain insight into how things work in practice, and have the opportunity to build experience that goes beyond this internship alone.

In addition, we offer you:

• A professional and innovative internship environment in which you actively contribute to societal and technological challenges, working alongside leading experts in your field.
• Personal and dedicated supervision, with focus on your learning objectives, development and study assignment.
• Room to develop: you gain relevant work experience, develop both your subject-specific and professional skills, and build a valuable network.
• Use of a laptop and the facilities you need to perform your work effectively.
• A monthly internship allowance of € 615 for a full-time internship, for MSc, BSc and vocational education (MBO) students.
• Up to eight hours of leave per internship month for a full-time internship, allowing you to balance your internship with your studies and personal life.
• A contribution towards travel expenses if you are not entitled to a student travel card.
• A free membership to Jong TNO, the network for young colleagues, where you can meet other TNO colleagues and participate in sports activities, professional and personal development activities, and social events such as the annual ski trip.

TNO as an employer

Our people are at the heart of TNO. Their curiosity, expertise and entrepreneurial mindset make it possible to deliver high-impact research and innovations that contribute to society’s sustainable wellbeing and prosperity.

Your talent and ambition have every opportunity to flourish at TNO. You work with experts, have access to advanced technology and the freedom to explore, experiment and innovate. Our strength lies in independence, reliability and collaboration.

If you start an internship with us, we will also ask you to provide a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).

• Before the start of the internship, an internship agreement must be signed. TNO uses the applicable TNO internship agreement for students from foreign educational institutions and MBO programmes, and the UNL-template, supplemented with several TNO-specific agreements, for students enrolled at a Dutch university or university of applied sciences. TNO does not sign any other internship agreements.
• Before the start of the internship, the educational institution will need to confirm in writing that you are enrolled at the educational institution for the duration of the internship and that the internship forms part of your study programme.
• Interns at TNO must have a registered residential address in the Netherlands at the start of the internship. Carrying out internship activities from abroad is not possible.
• International students must have a BSN (Dutch citizen service number) before the start of the internship.