Dr Lincot receives the award for his life-long engagement in photovoltaic research, support for industrialisation, management of research, as well as dissemination and promotion of solar energy, in particular in France.
Daniel Lincot graduated from the engineering School ESPCI-Paristech in 1978. He started his research in the field of Photovoltaics at the solid-state physics laboratory of CNRS in Meudon. After his PhD, he initiated his research activity on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells at Chimie Paristech, leading multiple international collaboration. He has been at the forefront of this field throughout his active scientific career (1980-2019). He has contributed to the creation of several joint PV research institutes or solar companies, and notably the IPVF institute in Palaiseau, where he served as the first scientific director (2013-2019).
Dr Lincot has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Silver Medal of the CNRS (2004) and the Vittorio de Nora Award (2024) from the Electrochemical Society. He chaired the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (2008) and organised notable symposia, including one for Edmond Becquerel’s 200th anniversary (2020) in Paris! His contributions to photovoltaics and chemistry have been widely recognised, leading to his election at the French Academy of Technology (2023). He also held the Chair of Industrial Innovation at Collège de France (2021-2022), highlighting his impact on renewable energy and industrial innovation. Besides his academic activities, Daniel Lincot develops strong links with citizen initiatives in the society, connecting more and more renewable energy developments with social and environmental practical concerns.
On behalf of the Becquerel Prize Committee, we cordially congratulate Dr Daniel Lincot for his life-long, always enthusiastic, engagement for photovoltaics in multiple forms, from research, to industry, to promotion and education.
Christophe Ballif, Chair Becquerel Committee.
The official prize ceremony will take place during the opening session of the 41st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, the EU PVSEC 2024, which will take place from 23 – 27th of September 2024 in Vienna, Austria. The Laudation speech will be given by Prof. Marika Edoff from Uppsala University.
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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2023Dr. Gunter Erfurt |
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2022Prof. Marko Topič |
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2021Ulrike Jahn |
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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. Christophe Ballif at EPFL and CSEM.
Should you need additional information, please don't hesitate to contact Ms. Karine Frossard at EPFL, Switzerland (karine.frossard (at) epfl.ch).
