Deep tech startup SOLYCO TECC is making the solar industry cleaner

Brain City Berlin

Since the 1990s, the solar industry has come a long way: from a niche technology to a global industry producing over a billion modules per year. Yet one problem has stubbornly persisted: solar panels marketed as a green technology still contain toxic heavy metals. Berlin-based startup SOLYCO TECC wants to change that.

The world's first clean interconnection technology for solar cells

SOLYCO TECC was founded in 2023 at the Urban Tech Republic on the site of the former Tegel Airport, one of Brain City Berlin's most dynamic innovation hubs. The team brings decades of industry experience: the founders previously worked at Solon, one of Berlin's best-known solar companies of the 2000s, which was at one point listed on the TecDAX. "It's really quite unglamorous engineering and materials science," says Dr Lars Podlowski about the heart of their work, with a certain irony, because the results of that understated engineering could fundamentally transform the global solar industry.

The product is called TECC-Connect®, the world's first completely silver-, lead- and bismuth-free interconnection technology for solar cells. Currently, the individual cells in a solar module are soldered together using wires that contain heavy metals. "The solar industry actually still has an exemption, because these heavy metals have long been banned in the rest of the electronics industry," explains Podlowski. SOLYCO TECC replaces soldering with a patented bonding process: a specially coated copper wire connects the solar cells electrically, without any critical raw materials.

From patent to series production

The idea grew out of years of hands-on experience in solar module production. Early experiments were kept deliberately small-scale until the patent was granted, and only then was the company officially founded. "Our entire development is based on our team bringing real technological expertise to the table," says Podlowski. "The foundation is that we are experts in solar module production and have been working on this for many years."

SOLYCO TECC has already signed a cooperation agreement with a major Chinese manufacturer, who has paid an advance licence fee. Series production is planned to begin later this year, with commercial sales, initially focused on the German market, starting in early 2027. The business model is built on licensing: "We believe it is interesting for the entire solar industry," says Podlowski. "We want to make the technology available to other companies globally."

Berlin as a base: talent and networks

In developing TECC-Connect®, SOLYCO TECC has worked closely with Berlin universities and universities of applied sciences, including HTW Berlin, BHT and TU Berlin. "We get really great students who want to write their thesis with us," says Podlowski. "It's a win-win situation." The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, formerly the Hahn-Meitner-Institut, is also a cooperation partner.

The team values the Tegel location for its shared infrastructure and proximity to other innovative companies. SOLYCO TECC previously operated from the Motion Lab in Treptow, a co-working space for hardware developers. Asked what sets Berlin apart as a location for founders, Podlowski is candid: direct public support for startups is limited, but the advice available through Berlin Partner and the IBB is genuinely valuable. What the city clearly does offer is human capital: "We've had some really great people here who do outstanding work."

Deep tech that the world needs

SOLYCO TECC exemplifies what deep tech means in practice: patient, research-based materials science with global impact potential. "I think it's good that the deep tech campaign is shining a light on this. Right now, everyone is focused on digital business models and AI. But in the end, it always comes down to hardware," says Podlowski. "Software doesn't ultimately produce anything. We need materials science and engineering for a product to actually exist."

For Brain City Berlin, SOLYCO TECC is a vivid illustration of what emerges when long-standing expertise, a strong university network and an innovation-friendly environment come together: a technology that can not only make the solar industry cleaner, but also demonstrates that deep tech from Berlin has global relevance. It comes as no surprise, then, that the startup is among the finalists for the Deep Tech Award 2026.

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