HZB Newsroom

It took almost a year to prepare for the major evaluation in May 2025. Olaf Schwarzkopf (Matter and Information) and Tobias Sontheimer (Energy) coordinated the entire process on behalf of HZB’s board of Directors. We spoke with them about how it went – and what they took away from it all.

In June and July 2025, catalyst researcher Nico Fischer spent some time at HZB. It was his sabbatical, he was relieved of his duties as Director of the Catalysis Institute in Cape Town for several months and was able to focus on research only. His institute is collaborating with HZB on two projects that aim to develop environmentally friendly alternatives using innovative catalyst technologies. The questions were asked by Antonia Rötger, HZB.

Dirk Lohmann has been head of the school laboratory at HZB's Wannsee site since summer 2024. In this interview, he explains what matters most to him: encouraging young people to explore natural phenomena with their own hands.

The South African chemist Denzil Moodley is the first Industrial Research Fellow at HZB. He is playing a leading role in the CARE-O-SENE project. The Fellowship program aims to further accelerate the development of an efficient catalyst for a sustainable aviation fuel. An interview about the CARE-O-SENE project and why it is so important for scientists from industry and public research to work together.

The Science Year 2025 is dedicated to the topic of ‘Future Energy’ and the Helmholtz Association is conducting cutting-edge research in this field.  An interview with Bernd Rech, Vice-President Energy of the Helmholtz Association and Scientific Director at HZB, on topics such as: Where does Germany stand with the restructuring of its energy system? What contribution can research make? And what about hydrogen, nuclear energy and nuclear fusion, and the new challenges for a secure supply in times of cyber attacks?