News
Research team has developed an alternative spectral imaging method
Quantum interference makes MIR spectroscopy possible using simple camera technology:
Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy uses the molecular fingerprints of samples to perform biomedical or environmental analyses without chemical staining or labeling. Highly specific vibrational states of the different…
Catalysis research at HZB gets new facility
The facility built by ILS is the largest single investment in the CatLab project:
As part of the CatLab project, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has acquired a unique facility for measuring the catalytic performance of thin-film catalysts. Built by ILS in Adlershof, it has now been delivered.…
The research coordinator
Patrick Scheele oversees the scientific direction of Ferdinand-Braun-Institut:
“I wasn’t disappointed,” says Patrick Scheele, looking back on the expectations with which he took up the post of scientific managing director of the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für…
Adlershof Innovation Booster
Thanks to AI, new technologies are emerging on campus that are driving scientific excellence and strengthening technological autonomy:
Artificial intelligence is accelerating research and driving innovation cycles. In Adlershof, this is giving rise to new technologies that not only advance scientific excellence but also strengthen the technological…
MOBITAT 2050: Making Commuting More Sustainable
The DLR Institute of Transport Research investigated how commuting patterns are changing in direct interaction with the aspects of housing and working:
Every day, millions of people in Germany commute to and from work. Sometimes only a few kilometers separate home and workplace. However, many commuters travel much longer distances. Although public transport has…
New ERDF Project for Oxide and Fluoride Crystals for Photonics and Electronics granted to IKZ
Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth receives millions in EU funding:
Research & Development (R & D) of crystals for photonics & electronics is a crucial precondition to enable economic success for key technologies defined by the “High Tech Agenda Deutschland” (see for details:…
5000th protein structure at BESSY II – Starting point for a COVID drug
HZB team has identified 21 molecules as candidates for the development of antiviral drugs:
Many proteins have a complex architecture that enables biological functions. Molecules can bind to specific sites on a protein and alter its function. A team at HZB has now investigated the Nsp1 protein, which plays a…
What Zinc concentration in teeth reveals
X-ray methods reveal strong gradients on the Zinc distribution in teeth – these insights could inspire dental medicine:
Teeth are composites of mineral and protein, with a bulk of bony dentin that is highly porous. This structure is allows teeth to be both strong and sensitive. Besides calcium and phosphate, teeth contain trace…
Fascinating archaeological find becomes a source of knowledge
Nördlingen bronze sword examined at Berlin X-ray source BESSY II:
The Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (BLfD) has sent a rare artefact from the Middle Bronze Age to Berlin for examination using cutting-edge, non-destructive methods. It is a…
Adlershof Dissertation Prize for 2025 goes to Dr Sascha Gaudlitz
The mathematician developed new statistical methods for reconstructing hidden dynamics in spatiotemporal systems:
On 11 February 2026, the Adlershof Dissertation Prize was awarded once again. Dr Sascha Gaudlitz received the prize, worth €3,000, which is jointly sponsored and organised each year by Humboldt University of Berlin,…
Element cobalt exhibits surprising properties
Investigations of the ferromagnet at BESSY II open up prospects for its use in future spin-based information technologies:
The element cobalt is considered a typical ferromagnet with no further secrets. However, an international team led by HZB researcher Dr. Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has now uncovered complex topological features in its…
MXene for energy storage more versatile than expected
HZB team maps chemical states of Titanium atoms using the X-ray microscope ‘MYSTIIC’ at BESSY II:
MXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first…
Open data infrastructure for municipal heat planning
New research project launched by Reiner Lemoine Institute and University of Osnabrück:
Launch of the project for open data infrastructure for municipal heat planning results: The partners from the Reiner Lemoine Institute and the University of Osnabrück met in Berlin to kick off the project. What they…
VCSEL-Powered NMR Gyroscope Ready for Space Navigation
The QYRO project is developing a compact quantum sensor for precise satellite navigation:
Within the QYRO project, the consortium has successfully qualified 795 nm VCSELs as pump-and-probe laser sources for an NMR gyroscope designed to enable compact and energy-efficient navigation in space. A VCSEL…
Water Window in the Laboratory
Soft X-ray Imaging with Nanometer Depth Resolution Using High Harmonics:
In its NanoMovie Application Laboratory, MBI offers femtosecond (≈10-15 seconds) short soft X-ray pulses produced by High Harmonic Generation (HHG) to users. The HHG radiation extends from 100 to 600 eV, covering the…
Young researchers compete for the Adlershof Dissertation Prize
From physics-based GaN models to statistical tools for complex systems to scaffolding with unusual molecules:
On 11 February, three young researchers will present the topic of their recently completed dissertations in short lectures live at the Erwin Schrödinger Centre on the Adlershof campus. Afterwards, a jury will evaluate…
BAM researchers achieve significant performance improvement in sodium-ion batteries
New core-shell design for anodes increases efficiency and storage capacity:
Sodium-ion batteries are considered a promising, sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, high storage losses during the first charging cycle have slowed down their development so far. Researchers at…
A record year for the HZB living lab for building-integrated solar facades
The solar modules on the facade of the Adlershof research building produced almost 32 MWh of electricity in 2025:
In 2025, the solar facade of the BIPV living laboratory (BIPV – Building integrated photovoltaics) in Berlin-Adlershof generated more electricity than in any of the previous four years of operation. With about 32…
Compact electron accelerator for treating PFAS-contaminated water
New approach to breaking down PFAS molecules into harmless components at contamination hotspots using radiolysis:
So-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS-contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high-energy electrons can…
Just after the Big Bang
Heiko Lacker is searching for previously unknown elementary particles:
The very substance that makes up the universe still holds many mysteries. Heiko Lacker, professor of experimental particle physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, explores the microcosm of matter and antimatter…