Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE) is a non-profit applied research and development laboratory. CSE's mission is to foster economic development through the commercialization of clean energy technologies for the benefit of society. CSE is part of the international Fraunhofer research network spearheaded by Germany's Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Europe's largest contract R&D organization. Fraunhofer performs applied research for federal and state governments, multinational corporations, as well as small to medium-sized companies. The center plays a unique and central role in the clean energy ecosystem, developing innovative technologies for commercialization so that people have easier access to technologies that create economic and community benefit. Since its founding in 2008, Fraunhofer CSE has filed and licensed several patents in photovoltaic and building energy technologies and created over 170 direct jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs in the clean energy technology center. Funded by the DOE's SunShot Initiative, the center is currently leading a project to develop Plug-and-Play Photovoltaics for American Homes.
