Finnish Inventor Develops High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Hele Irene Savin, a Finnish inventor and professor, is renowned for her groundbreaking research in solar cells. Her work focuses on developing highly efficient solar cells using nanostructured 'black silicon.' Savin, a recipient of prestigious awards like the World Economic Forum's Young Scientist Award, has made significant contributions to the field of renewable energy.

Finnish inventor, professor

Hele Irene Savin
Born	Hele Väinölä (1977-08-01) August 1, 1977 (age 46) Imatra, Finland
Alma mater	Aalto University
Occupation(s)	Inventor, professor
Known for	High-efficiency solar cells using nanostructured, black silicon

Hele Irene Savin (née Väinölä; born 1 August 1977 in Imatra) is a Finnish scientist and inventor, best known for her research in solar cells and is a professor of micro and nanoelectronics at Aalto University. She is publicly known as an inventor and developer of high-efficiency solar cells using nanostructured, so-called black silicon.

Life and work

Savin graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology (now part of Aalto University) with a master's degree in engineering (2000) and a doctorate in technology (2005). Her English-language dissertation, titled Controlling iron and copper Precipitation in Silicon wafers, studied ways in which silicon materials that are used in electronics can be more economical.

During her postgraduate studies, Savin visited the United States as a visiting researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California (2002–2003). As a postdoc researcher, she worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany (2009–2010). Later, she was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2013) in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Savin is listed by the U.S. Patent Office as co-inventor of nine patented devices.

Savin received awards for her "pioneering research" in solar energy development of efficient solar cells with, among other things, the World Economic Forum's Young Scientist Award (2013), and the Parliament's EUR 110,000 Women's Innovation Award (2017). She is a member of the Academy of Technical Sciences.