HZB Newsroom

An art installation will be erected in front of the entrance to the BESSY building. The sculpture was chosen in a competion. It invites people to sit down and exchange ideas.

On Friday, 19 April 2024, the Scientific Director of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Bernd Rech, and the President of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), Yi Chang-Keun, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Daejeon (South Korea).

Burning biomass for cooking causes harmful environmental and health issues. The German-South African GreenQUEST initiative is developing a clean household fuel. It aims to reduce climate-damaging CO₂ emissions and to improve access to energy for households in sub-Saharan Africa.

Registration for Quantsol is now open!

The International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held in September 1-8, 2024 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The school is organised by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until Friday 31^st of May 2024, 23.59h CET.

Dr. Artem Musiienko has been awarded a special prize for his groundbreaking new method for characterising semiconductors. At the recent annual conference of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) in Milan, Italy, he received the MCAA Award for the best innovation. Since 2023, Musiienko has been carrying out his research project with a postdoctoral fellowship from the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions in Antonio Abate's department, Novel Materials and Interfaces for Photovoltaic Solar Cells (SE-AMIP).

Dr Sebastian Keckert has been awarded the Young Scientist Award for Accelerator Physics of the German Physical Society (DPG). The prize is endowed with 5000 euros and was presented to him on 21.03. during the spring conference in Berlin. It honours the physicist's outstanding achievements in the development of new superconducting thin-film material systems for cavities.

At the end of February 2024, a team at HZB published an article in Synchrotron Radiation News (SRN). They describe the next development goals for the light source as well as the BESSY II+ upgrade programme and the successor source BESSY III.

Physicist Dr Robert Seidel has been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Over the next five years, he will receive a total of two million euros for his research project WATER-X. Seidel will use state-of-the-art X-ray techniques at BESSY II to study nanoparticles in aqueous solution for the photocatalytic production of "green" hydrogen.

Since 2017, the German Cyclists' Federation (ADFC) has been awarding the EU-wide "Bicycle-Friendly Employer" certification. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has now been awarded the coveted silver seal. With this, the HZB wants to be even more attractive as an employer, especially for international applicants.

The new HZB magazine lichtblick is out! Topics are: green hydrogen, construction projects and green construction for Ukraine, ... We invite you to browse through the online edition.

The Alliance of German Science Organisations, to which the Helmholtz Association also belongs, emphatically condemns any kind of anti-democratic and inhuman endeavours.

Wir trauern um unseren ehemaligen Kollegen und Leiter des BENSC-Nutzerbüros am damaligen Hahn-Meitner-Institut (HMI, später HZB Nutzerbüro Neutronen) Dr. Hans-Anton Graf. Er verstarb nach einem ereignisreichen Leben und längerer Krankheit am 30. Dezember 2023 im Alter von 78 Jahren. Hans-Anton Graf war 1977 bis 2010 in der Neutronenforschung am HMI/HZB tätig.

Yan Lu is appointed new Professor of Hybrid Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion at Friedrich Schiller University Jena together with HZB. Congratulations!

Prof. Jörg Eichler war von 1971 bis 1973 wissenschaftlicher Geschäftsführer des Hahn-Meitner-Instituts (HMI), aus dem später zusammen mit BESSY das HZB entstanden ist.  Am 1. Januar 2024 feierte Prof. Jörg Eichler nun seinen 90sten Geburtstag. Das HZB sendet herzliche Glückwünsche.

The Highlights 2022 report on a selection of the most important research results and events at HZB.

Several HZB research teams are participating in the new SFB 1636 "Elementary processes of light-driven reactions on nanoscale metals".

Every year, countless articles are published in specialist journals. The information service provider Clarivate uses a recognised method to measure the influence of the published articles on the respective subject area. According to this year's evaluation, HZB researcher Steve Albrecht is one of the most "highly cited researchers" having a significant influence on his field. Albrecht and his team have been involved in several world records for tandem solar cells in recent years and have published the results in high-ranking scientific journals. 

HZB is aware of its social responsibility. Now, HZB’s Greenhouse Gas Report is here, after being externally verified, and identifies the main sources of emissions. The report provides the basis for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On Thursday, 12 October 2023, Michelle Browne received a prestigious award in Hamburg: The "Curious Mind Award" in the category "Mobility, Energy and Sustainable Business" by manager magazin. 

With a strong commitment to further investment in research and innovation, the special conference of the East German Minister-Presidents came to an end on 19 October 2023. The special conference, chaired by Saxony's Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, was also attended by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Carsten Schneider.
The special conference was hosted by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, based in Berlin-Adlershof with BESSY II light source and its energy research.

With great concern, we are following the news from Israel. We are stunned by the massive terrorist violence causing many victims and unbearable human suffering. We condemn the attacks by Hamas on Israel and its citizen in the strongest possible terms.

The first high-level event of the Green Deal Ukraina (GDU) project took place in October in Kyiv, Ukraine, attended by more than 150 participants. This first gathering and formal launch took place at an important moment: EU will share a new report on the countries progress towards EU and Ukraine will respond by sharing its own analysis, called pre-screening.

Tandem solar cells achieve high efficiencies: by combining two different types of solar cells, more sunlight is converted into electricity. PV manufacturer Qcells and a HZB team led by Dr. Kári Sveinbjörnsson and Bor Li have developed the technology to an extent, that Qcells invested in setting up a pilot line for the development of tandem cells in Saxony-Anhalt. For this successful transfer into industrial application, both researchers received the Technology Transfer Prize of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin worth 5,000 euros, on 4. October 2023.

A multidisciplinary team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) is researching and improving novel tandem solar cells in order to bring them into application. For their approach and research achievements, Steve Albrecht, Antonio Abate and Eva Unger from HZB and Michael Saliba from FZJ received the High Impact Award on 27 September 2023. With the award, which comes with 50,000 euros in prize money, the Helmholtz Association and the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany honour innovative approaches that have the potential to act as game-changers.

Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy, HZB) will jointly establish the "Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications" (HIPOLE) on 1 July 2023. The aim of HIPOLE is to develop sustainable polymer materials for energy technologies that can be rapidly brought into application, in particular polymer-based batteries and perovskite solar cells with polymer additives. HIPOLE will be funded with up to 5.5 million euros per year by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, 90%) and the Free State of Thuringia (10%). In the start-up phase until 2028, the Free State of Thuringia will additionally fund the new institute with more than ten million euros and take over the financing of the construction costs for the laboratories and offices.

Nach längerer Krankheit starb Prof. Dr. Hans Ackermann am 25. März 2023 im Alter von 87 Jahren. Hans Ackermann war in vielen Funktionen für das Hahn-Meitner-Institut in den 1980er und 1990er Jahren tätig. In dieser Zeit war er einer der führenden Forscher auf dem Gebiet der nuklearen Festkörperphysik, der sich prägend und intensiv für diese Forschungsrichtung und ihre Förderung eingesetzt hat.

e will open our doors for the Long Night of the Sciences. Get exciting insights into our energy research, visit laboratories and ask us your questions about the energy transition. Our school lab invites you to take part in hands-on experiments - and a science show will keep you pumped up and amazed! Please bring your identity card!     

On 11 June 2023, Professor Dr Wolfgang Gudat will turn 80. From 1989 to 2000, Wolfgang Gudat was scientific director of BESSY. Under his leadership, the BESSY II project was approved and the storage ring in Adlershof was built and equipped with state-of-the-art instruments. He founded the Friends of HZB and is honorary chairman of the association. On his birthday, his colleagues and the HZB management wish him all the best!

Green Deal Ukraina, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is working with partner institutions in Ukraine and Poland to establish an energy and climate think tank in the capital, Kiev. The aim is to provide independent and evidence-based advice on rebuilding a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. After all, the implementation of energy and climate legislation is a prerequisite for Ukraine's accession to the EU. The project started on 1 June 2023 and will run for four years.

In February 2023, the Scientific Director of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was elected Corresponding Member of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering (IAS).