News
New records in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells
An HZB team has been able to increase the efficiency achieving 25.5 %, which is the highest published value to date:
Using microstructured layers, an HZB team has been able to increase the efficiency of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, achieving 25.5 %, which is the highest published value to date. At the same time,…
Sprinting towards the tandem cell
How the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT brings together business and research:
Researchers at the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT conduct application-based research on promising solar cells. The development of their refined ideas depends on bringing working together with the industry. A…
Blue phosphorus - mapped and measured for the first time
HZB team was able to examine samples of blue phosphorus at BESSY II for the first time:
Until recently, the existence of "blue" phosphorus was pure theory: Now an HZB team was able to examine samples of blue phosphorus at BESSY II for the first time and confirm via mapping of their electronic band…
Nanodiamonds as photocatalysts
Research team is testing materials for the production of solar fuels at HZB:
Diamond nanomaterials are considered hot candidates for low-cost photocatalysts. They can be activated by light and can then accelerate certain reactions between water and CO2 and produce carbon-neutral "solar fuels".…
Graforce produces environmentally friendly fuel from wastewater
Plasmalysis converts pollutants into energy and reduces emissions by up to 60 %:
The Berlin-based tech company Graforce has introduced a unique technology: Plasmalysis saves resources in its highly efficient generation of hydrogen from industrial waste water. Mixing in biogas produces…
HZB researchers are used to boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells
In the journal Materials Horizons, researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and international colleagues describe how this limit can be abolished:
The efficiency of a solar cell is one of its most important parameters. It indicates what percentage of the solar energy radiated into the cell is converted into electrical energy. The theoretical limit for silicon…
HZB Young Investigator Group “Nano-SIPPE” discovers:
Machine learning helps improving photonic applications:
Photonic nanostructures can be used for many applications, not just in solar cells, but also in optical sensors for cancer markers or other biomolecules, for example. A team at HZB using computer simulations and…
Patented nanostructure for solar cells
Rough optics, smooth surface:
Thin-film solar cells made of crystalline silicon are inexpensive and achieve efficiencies of a good 14 percent. However, they could do even better if their shiny surfaces reflected less light. A team led by Prof.…
Adlershof’s accelerator programme A² supports the development of start-ups
A Bavarian start-up teamed up with a Berlin-based energy provider on a project towards the digitisation of district heating data:
The “A² Adlershof Accelerator-Programm Berlin” made it possible for a Bavarian start-up and a Berlin-based energy provider to come together to work on a project towards the digitisation of district heating data. A²…
2.8 Mio Euro Funding for preparing perovskite solar cells for high volume manufacturing
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and partners want to further improve the manufacturing process:
HZB participates in a new consortium for Perovskite solar technology that is led by Oxford PV Germany GmbH. The consortium is funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Energy with 2.8 Million Euros and aims to…
Printing solar cells and organic LEDs
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin form a joint lab and research group “Generative production processes for hybrid components”:
Solar cells, LEDs and detectors made of organic and hybrid semiconductors can nowadays be simply printed out, even together with teensy nanostructures that make them function better. The development of low-cost…
Insight into loss processes in perovskite solar cells enables efficiency improvements
In perovskite solar cells, charge carriers are mainly lost through recombination occurring at interface defect sites. :
In contrast, recombination at defect sites within the perovskite layer does not limit the performance of the solar cells at present. Teams from the University of Potsdam and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) were…
Insight into catalysis through novel study of X-ray absorption spectroscopy
An international team has made a breakthrough at BESSY II:
For the first time, they succeeded in investigating electronic states of a transition metal in detail and drawing reliable conclusions on their catalytic effect from the data. These results are helpful for the…
Adlershof solar power plant: From testing ground for solar installations to respectable power supply
The new solar cells on the roof of Studio H were the crowning achievement: now numbering twenty one, the photovoltaic installations in Adlershof together generate far in excess of 1 MW of electric power under the…
Prof. Dr. Peter Rudolph
Coordinator of the competence area “Crystal Growth Technology” at the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ):
Peter Rudolph is the coordinator of the competence area “Crystal Growth Technology” at the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) in Berlin-Adlershof. Peter Rudolph (who got his degree as Electrical Engineer at…