A highlight of the visit is the tour of the BESSY II experimental hall. Here, the Deputy Prime Minister (3rd from left) discovers the endstations of the X-ray source with the Scientific Director Bernd Rech (4th left).
© C. Collado / HZB
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore visits HZB
At the beginning of the visit, Bernd Rech introduces the Helmholtz Association and HZB's research as well in Adlershof as in Wannsee.
© C. Collado / HZB
The Deputy Prime Minister follows Andreas Jankowiak's presentations with great interest. In the control room of BESSY II, the accelerator expert introduces the guests to how the light source works.
© C. Collado / HZB
The first stop in the experimental hall is the hutch of the macromolecular crystallography research group. Manfred Weiss reports, among other things, on the research that led to the decoding of the three-dimensional structure of the main protease of the SARS-CoV2 virus.
© C. Collado / HZB
This is the size of the pin on which a crystal is mounted where the brilliant X-ray light (synchrotron light) shines through. This allows researchers to peer into the matter and better understand its secrets.
© C. Collado / HZB
The second stop at BESSY II brought the delegation to EMIL (Energy Materials In-Situ Laboratory Berlin).
© C. Collado / HZB
With humour and Lego, Steffi Hlawenka brings thin-film technology closer to the guests and reports on the new research platform for catalysis: CatLab.
© C. Collado / HZB
In bright sunshine, the delegation learned about new technologies in the field of photovoltaics and solar cells.
© C. Collado / HZB
Postdoc Jiahuan Zhang proudly presents a solar cell developed in her group that currently holds a world record with an efficiency of almost 30 per cent.
© C. Collado / HZB
At the end, the participants exchange ideas about research and R&D in Germany and Singapore. They agree that they would like to build on these fruitful discussions and envisage future projects.
© C. Collado / HZB
A group picture with the delegation and all those involved from the HZB.
Thank you very much for your visit, Heng Swee Keat!
© C. Collado / HZB
On Friday, 17 June, a delegation from Singapore visited HZB. Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, was accompanied by the Ambassador to Singapore in Germany, Laurence Bay, as well as representatives from research and industry.
It is the Prime Minister's first trip to Europe since the start of the pandemic. Before his stop in Berlin, he was in the UK, including London Tech Week and the Oxford Science Park.
The delegation led by Heng Swee Keat got some insights into HZB's energy and materials research as well as the science conducted at BESSY II light source and in the new catalyst laboratory CatLab.
All participants were delighted about the fruitful discussions and would like to deepen the scientific exchange between the two countries.
- Battery research with the HZB X-ray microscopeNew cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each charging cycle due to structural and chemical changes. Using X-ray methods at BESSY II, teams from several Chinese research institutions have now investigated these changes for the first time with highest precision: at the unique X-ray microscope, they were able to observe morphological and structural developments on the nanometre scale and also clarify chemical changes.
- BESSY II: New procedure for better thermoplasticsBio-based thermoplastics are produced from renewable organic materials and can be recycled after use. Their resilience can be improved by blending bio-based thermoplastics with other thermoplastics. However, the interface between the materials in these blends sometimes requires enhancement to achieve optimal properties. A team from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has now investigated at BESSY II how a new process enables thermoplastic blends with a high interfacial strength to be made from two base materials: Images taken at the new nano station of the IRIS beamline showed that nanocrystalline layers form during the process, which increase material performance.
- Hydrogen: Breakthrough in alkaline membrane electrolysersA team from the Technical University of Berlin, HZB, IMTEK (University of Freiburg) and Siemens Energy has developed a highly efficient alkaline membrane electrolyser that approaches the performance of established PEM electrolysers. What makes this achievement remarkable is the use of inexpensive nickel compounds for the anode catalyst, replacing costly and rare iridium. At BESSY II, the team was able to elucidate the catalytic processes in detail using operando measurements, and a theory team (USA, Singapore) provided a consistent molecular description. In Freiburg, prototype cells were built using a new coating process and tested in operation. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis.