News
Europe’s only gallium-oxide semiconductor producer raises €2M
Berlin-based Deeptech Startup NextGO Epi has received funding to become a global leader in next-generation power semiconductors:
NextGO Epi, a Berlin-based deep tech startup spun off from Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ), producing Gallium Oxide epitaxial wafers for next-generation power electronics, has secured a €2 million pre-seed…
New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cells
The new carborane-based material improves efficiency and stability; it has since been patented and is already commercially available:
A newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers…
DFG continues to fund the HU project consortium FAIRmat until the end of 2038
In the new funding period, FAIRmat is placing greater emphasis on AI for data-driven science:
FAIRmat is a consortium for data infrastructure in the materials sciences, which has been coordinated by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) since its foundation in 2021. It forms part of the National Research Data…
Einstein Foundation awards grants to five researchers at Humboldt-Universität
The Foundation is strengthening Berlin as a centre of science and research while also supporting its international connectedness:
Einstein Chair Focus on Algebraic Curves Gavril Farkas, Professor of Algebraic Geometry at Humboldt-Universität since 2007, is to become an Einstein Professor. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in…
Precision interface chemistry pushes the efficiency of perovskite solar cells
At HySPRINT at the HZB, the optimisation of solar cells will be significantly accelerated in future by autonomous robotic systems:
An international research collaboration has developed a new molecular strategy for controlling one of the most critical interfaces in perovskite solar cells. The resulting solar cells reached a power conversion…
New atomic trap boosts quantum performance by utilising surface forces
Researchers at HU have developed a new method for trapping and controlling atoms:
Trapping and controlling atoms is one of the technical foundations for utilising their quantum mechanical properties – for example, for secure communication in quantum networks or in quantum computing. Many novel…
Novel perovskite triple-junction solar cell with 27.3% efficiency developed
The triple-junction solar cell from HZB is not only efficient, but also long-term stable, lightweight and inexpensive:
Perovskite semiconductors efficiently convert sunlight into electrical energy; they are also inexpensive and extremely lightweight. A team at HZB has developed a triple-junction solar cell comprising different…
New sample environment at BESSY II allows glimpse into thermocatalytic processes
A novel measurement cell allows, for the first time, X-ray investigations under high pressures and temperatures:
A novel measurement cell allows, for the first time, soft and hard X-ray investigations under high pressures of up to 20 bar and temperatures of up to 400°C. This provides new insights into thermocatalytic processes,…
Spectacular high-speed flyby of the asteroid Torifune
DLR will support the scientific analysis of data taken by the Hayabusa2♯ asteroid probe:
On Sunday 5 July 2026, the Japanese Hayabusa2♯ asteroid mission flew past asteroid (98943) Torifune at very close range and at an extremely high speed of approximately five kilometres per second (18,000 kilometres per…
IKZ impresses in Leibniz evaluation with top rating and strategic momentum
Funding for the institute confirmed for a further seven-year period:
The Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) has successfully completed its periodic evaluation by the Leibniz Association. The Leibniz Senate reviewed the evaluation report in July 2026 and confirmed the…
Autonomous rail transport: between optimism and scepticism
At the DLR Transport Research Institute, the acceptance conditions for automated rail transport were investigated:
In future, autonomous vehicles could be used for both local and long-distance transport. The Acceptance GoA3+ project, which investigated the attitudes of passengers and staff towards this, has now been…
New insights into quantum materials using magnetic imaging
Micro-flowers increase the local magnetic field and expand the range of applications for photoemission electron microscopy:
Materials with magnetic nanostructures have many potential applications such as in spintronics. To explore such materials, nanoscale magnetic-sensitive imaging techniques are very useful, but up to now only weak…
In synch with success
Two companies who broke out in Adlershof now move into their own headquarters:
Both began life as start-ups in Adlershof and are now, as medium-sized companies, moving into their own headquarters on the site. Music is important to both founders, not only in terms of business. “Not the trombone.…
FAIRmat Wins European Digital Skills Award
The consortium for research data infrastructure in materials science, coordinated by Humboldt-Universität, has been recognized by the European Commission:
As research becomes increasingly data-driven, it is more important than ever to organize scientific data in ways that allow researchers, software tools, and artificial intelligence systems to use them effectively. The…
Movies under the stars
Culture meets Science at Work invites audiences to a summer of cinema in Adlershof:
When the weather warms up, film lovers head to Berlin's open-air cinemas to enjoy the city's unmistakable summer vibe. Venues in the districts Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain are perennial favourites, while Freiluftkino…
Materials research: BESSY and the bronze sword
A historic artefact was examined at the Adlershof Particle Accelerator:
A weapon is not the sort of object you would expect to find at a particle accelerator. Yet earlier this year, a Bronze Age sword found its way to Berlin: 60 centimetres long, richly decorated, more than 3,400 years…
Choreography in bronze
Traditional craftsmanship creates contemporary one-of-a-kind works at Kunstgießerei Altglienicke:
Bronze casting is one of the oldest techniques used in the history of art. At Kunstgießerei Altglienicke, Anke Schirlitz is carrying on this tradition and love for art. An art historian and cultural manager by trade,…
Lausitz Science Park GmbH launches with strong support from Adlershof
Milestone for the Innovation Corridor / WISTA joins the group of shareholders alongside BTU and the City of Cottbus:
With the notarization, Lausitz Science Park GmbH (LSP GmbH) officially launches on July 1, 2026: The new company will be responsible for developing and operating the science park on the site of the former Cottbus-Nord…
New world record set for the efficiency of a tandem solar cell
A research team from HU and HZB has succeeded in converting 25.5 per cent of sunlight into electrical energy by combining a CIGSe semiconductor layer with perovskite:
With this record, the Berlin-based team of researchers from the Centre for the Science of Materials Berlin (CSMB) at Humboldt University of Berlin (HU) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has broken its own record…
How storms and insect infestations improve habitats for bison, elk and red deer
HU study shows that increasing disturbances in forests have a positive effect on large herbivores:
A study published in the journal *Nature Ecology & Evolution*, led by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), shows how forest disturbances can improve habitat quality for large herbivores, in some cases over decades.…