CENTRAL LABORATORY OF SOLAR ENERGY& NEW ENERGY SOURCES OF THE BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Their core work

The Central Laboratory of Solar Energy and New Energy Sources (SENES) is an applied research centre within the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences specialising in solar energy technologies — particularly photovoltaics and solar thermal applications. In H2020, they contributed technical expertise to projects on building-integrated solar glazing (InDeWaG) and the societal dimensions of photovoltaics deployment, including citizen engagement and open science practices (GRECO). Their work bridges laboratory-level solar research with real-world applications in buildings and energy systems. As a BAS unit, they combine academic research capacity with infrastructure for materials testing and energy performance evaluation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (InDeWaG, 2015), SENES contributed as a technical partner on applied solar glazing — focused on materials and systems, with no keywords logged, suggesting a purely engineering or lab-based role. By 2018, their second project (GRECO) expanded their scope into the human and institutional side of photovoltaics: open science, citizen scientists, and quadruple helix engagement models. This suggests a deliberate or opportunistic broadening from pure technical research toward science-society interface work, possibly reflecting pressure to demonstrate societal impact alongside laboratory output.

SENES appears to be moving toward projects that combine technical solar expertise with open science and public engagement frameworks — making them a viable partner for Horizon Europe missions requiring citizen involvement alongside PV research.

How they like to work

SENES has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both H2020 projects, indicating a preference or capacity for specialist contributor roles rather than project leadership. Their 19 unique partners across just 2 projects suggests they joined moderately large consortia where their solar energy expertise served a defined technical function. There is no evidence of repeated partnerships, pointing to a broad but shallow network rather than a tight cluster of recurring collaborators.

SENES has built connections with 19 unique partners across 6 countries through just two projects, suggesting their consortia were geographically diverse at the European level. Their network is relatively modest in depth but suggests openness to multinational collaboration across the EU energy research space.

What sets them apart

SENES is one of the few research units in Bulgaria with direct H2020 experience in both applied solar technology (glazing systems) and the societal governance of photovoltaics deployment. As part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, they offer access to institutional research infrastructure and national scientific networks that private or university-based partners cannot easily replicate. For consortia needing a Southeastern European research partner with credible solar energy credentials, SENES fills a gap that few Bulgarian institutions can.

Highlights from their portfolio

• InDeWaG
  The highest-funded project (€408,074) and SENES's entry into H2020, focused on industrialising water flow glazing — a niche intersection of solar thermal and smart building envelope technology.
• GRECO
  Notable for its unusual combination of photovoltaics research with open science, citizen scientists, and quadruple helix models, signalling SENES's ability to contribute to socially-oriented energy projects.