Dr. Delfina Muñoz receives this prestigious award in recognition of her outstanding scientific contributions and influential leadership in advancing crystalline silicon photovoltaics. Over nearly two decades, she has been a key architect of high efficiency and reliable industrial PV technologies from research to industrial application.
As Research Director and strategic project manager at CEA CEA INES, Dr. Muñoz has successfully led major national, European and industry-driven collaborative projects. Her research on interfaces in photovoltaic devices has been instrumental in improving both conversion efficiency and long-term reliability. Her achievements are reflected in numerous peer-reviewed publications, 16 patents, and the co-editing of the book N-Type Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics: Technology, Applications and Economics.
Dr. Muñoz also holds leading roles in European photovoltaic strategy as Co-Chair of the ETIP PV Steering Committee and Technology Working Group, and as a Board member of the European Solar Manufacturing Council. With remarkable optimism and enthusiasm, Dr. Muñoz has built a strong network across the PV community, mentored numerous PhD students and post-doc researchers, and actively promoted the empowerment of women in science. She is honoured for her scientific excellence, strategic vision and lasting contribution to the photovoltaic community. Dr. Muñoz truly embodies the spirit and criteria of the Becquerel Prize.
On behalf of the Becquerel Prize Committee, we cordially congratulate Dr. Delfina Muñoz and thank her for her outstanding commitment to photovoltaics.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Glunz, Chair Becquerel Committee.
The official prize ceremony will take place during the opening session of the 43rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, the EU PVSEC 2026, which will take place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, from 14 – 18th September 2026. The Laudation speech will be given by Dr. Veronica Bermudez Benito.
The Alexandre Edmond Becquerel Prize was established in 1989 by the European Commission at the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Becquerel’s classical experiment in which he discovered the photovoltaic effect.
Its purpose is to honour scientific, technical or managerial merit in the development of photovoltaic solar energy, attained over a long period of continuous achievements, or very exceptionally, for some extraordinary invention or discovery.
It is primarily a European Award but not restricted exclusively to European citizens. The Prize is awarded periodically to a single individual. The Prize cannot be shared nor given to an institution or team.
The Becquerel Prize Committee selects the individual to be honoured with the prize. The committee is formed by:
(a) all the past awardees,
(b) the Chairperson of the Solar Energy Conference where the prize will be awarded,
(c) one representative of the European Commission,
(d) the organiser of the conference where the prize will be awarded.
The Becquerel Prize is named after Alexandre Edmond Becquereli (24 March 1820 – 11 May 1891).
Alexandre Edmond Becquerel was born in Paris and was the assistant and later the successor of his father, Antoine Cesar Becquerel, at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle.
In 1839, at the age of 19, he created and analyzed the world´s first photovoltaic cellii,iii in the laboratory of his father. The photovoltaic cell consisted of two electrodes in an acidic solution,
separated by a thin membrane. He illuminated one of the electrodes. Especially when the electrodes were coated with AgCl or AgBr, he could observe a significant generation of electricity.
Since he could exclude that this effect was due to temperature effects (induced by the illumination), he concluded that the light itself was the reason for his observation.
Furthermore Becquerel already discovered the influence of the spectrum of light on the photovoltaic effect; he noted that blue light yielded the highest current generation.
Alexandre Edmond Becquerel was also very active in other research related to the effects of light like photography and phosphorescence. In 1867/68 he published the important book: “La lumière, ses causes et ses effets (Light, its causes and effects)”.
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i not to be confused with his son Henri Becquerel who received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of radioactivity
ii A.E. Becquerel, "Recherches sur les effets de la radiation chimique de la lumiere solaire au moyen des courants electriques", Comptes Rendus de L'Academie des Sciences, Vol. 9, pp. 145-149, 1839; also Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Vol. 54, pp. 18-34, 1841.
iii A.E. Becquerel, "Memoire sur les effects electriques produits sous I'influence des rayons solaires", Comptes Rendus de L'Academie des Sciences, Vol. 9, pp. 561- 567, 1839; also Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Vol. 54, pp. 35-42, 1841.
(You may find a translation of publication iii into English here )
Find out more about the history of the Becquerel Prize here
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2025Walburga Hemetsberger |
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2024Dr. Daniel Lincot |
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2023Dr. Gunter Erfurt |
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2022Prof. Marko Topič |
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2020Prof. Henry Snaith |
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2019Dr. Pierre Verlinden |
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2018Prof. Peter Würfel |
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2017Dr. Stefan Nowak |
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2016Prof. Christophe Ballif |
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2015Prof. Andrés Cuevas |
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2014Dr. Stefan Glunz |
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2013Prof. Gabriel Sala |
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2012Dr. Winfried Hoffmann |
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2011Prof. Wim Sinke |
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2010Prof. Hans-Werner Schock Diploma - Becquerel Prize 2010 |
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2009Dr. Andreas W. Bett |
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2008Mechtild Rothe |
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2007Prof. Arvind Shah Diploma - Becquerel Prize 2007 |
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2006Dr. Richard M. Swanson |
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2006Dr. Dieter Bonnet |
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2005Prof. Joachim Luther |
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2004Prof. Masafumi Yamaguchi |
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2003Dr. Wolfgang Palz |
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2001Prof. Viacheslav Andreev |
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2000Frederick C. Treble |
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1998Dr. Walter Sandtner |
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1997Prof. Adolf Goetzberger Diploma - Becquerel Prize 1997 |
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1995Dr. Karlheinz Krebs |
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1994Dr. Morton Prince |
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1992Prof. Antonio Luque |
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1991Prof. Werner Bloss |
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1989Prof. Roger Van Overstraeten |
Please download the bylaws of the Becquerel Prize committee here
The Chairman of the Becquerel Committee is Prof. Stefan Glunz at Fraunhofer ISE and University of Freiburg. Should you need additional information, please don't hesitate to contact Ms. Sarah Wiesler-Baumann or Ms. Birgit Morelle at Fraunhofer ISE (office-glunz@ise.fraunhofer.de). Webmaster: C. Ballif/N. Romano, CSEM
