Living Lab: Lumifield
Lumifield is an innovative living lab designed to teach the next generation of chemists, physicists, and sustainability scientists. In this learning space, students investigate the conversion and storage of solar energy under real-life conditions.
Sunlight consists of all the colours of the rainbow. In the early 1900s, Max Planck defined the relation between the energy E of light and its wavelength λ (i.e. colour). These are related via E=hc/λ , with h the Planck constant and c the speed of light. Hence, the formula on the container describes the amount of energy in each colour of light. Every calculation brings us one step closer to a sustainable future.
About the Project
The Living Lab Lumifield was established in 2025 and is rooted in the curriculum of the Department of Chemistry. This living lab was initiated and funded by a teaching innovation fund (fUSO) from the Faculty of Science.
In this living lab, students find out how different materials and solar cell designs convert sunlight into electricity. The power conversion efficiency of emerging types of solar panels is compared to established technologies. Examples of emerging technologies are ‘bifacial’ solar panels, that collect light from the top and the bottom, and coloured panels, that can be integrated into windows or building facades.
At the same time, we monitor parameters such as the amount of sunlight and weather conditions, allowing students to relate solar energy conversion to local conditions. The panels are not connected to the electricity grid. Instead, the electricity is temporarily stored in battery packs. Students monitor the storage of solar energy, which will be needed in the near future as the Dutch electricity grid is overloaded.
At present, the living lab is part of the master course BETA-MPHSE Photovoltaics: basics and integration. In this course, we encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together insights from chemistry, physics, and geosciences. By incorporating programming and data analysis, students learn to evaluate performance metrics like solar cell efficiency, stability, and energy storage. Through this living lab, students are not just learning chemistry: they’re becoming active contributors to solving real-world challenges in sustainability.
Connection to other living labs
The living lab is set to evolve, becoming a resource for students across departments and institutes, from designing and testing new solar cells to exploring their integration into buildings. We work closely together with other energy transition living labs, such as the Utrecht Photovoltaic Outdoor Test facility (contact person Wilfried van Sark), the refinery of the future (contact person Bert Weckhuysen) and the Household lab (Hogeschool Utrecht, contact person Harm van den Heiligenberg).
The Utrecht Photovoltaic Outdoor Test facility (UPOT) is located on the roof of the Hans Freudenthal building and can measure the performance of up to 24 solar panels using various photovoltaic technologies. Data from UPOT can be directly compared to the solar panels at Lumifield.
The Refinery of the Future is currently in development, and will consist of two container units. One unit will capture CO₂ from the campus energy facility chimney, and test its conversion into fuels like methane. By using renewable electricity from Lumifield we will be able to investigate the storage of solar energy in fuels.
The Household lab is a collaborative initiative from the Hogeschool Utrecht and Utrecht University, that will test technological innovations in people’s daily lives. In collaboration with Lumifield, we can test for example how electricity use and electricity generation by solar panels can be matched, to minimize the need for storage.
More Information
For inquiries about the Lumifield, collaboration opportunities, or to learn more about its integration into education, please contact:
Dr. Hutter (Project Leader): E.M.Hutter@uu.nl