News
Launch of Repower Regions – Transforming Europe's Heating and Cooling Sector
Steinbeis-SIT joins a project focused on decarbonisation, digital skills, and sustainable solutions in Europe’s heating and cooling sector:
Steinbeis School of Sustainable Innovation and Transformation (SIT), affiliated with Steinbeis University GmbH, dedicates itself to delivering exceptional educational programmes and offering guidance in innovation and…
Creative comics against biodiversity loss
BioYouToon, an Erasmus+ project, aims to sensitise young people and raise awareness of biodiversity:
The project consortium of BioYouToon, an EU-funded Erasmus+ project, met at the end of March 2025 to share the results developed during the funding period. The highlight was five Webtoon Comics, available online in…
Catalysis research with the X-ray microscope at BESSY II
Scientists studied changes in catalysts during the synthesis of ammonia from waste nitrates:
Contrary to what we learned at school, some catalysts do change during the reaction: for example, certain electrocatalysts can change their structure and composition during the reaction when an electric field is…
The future of energy: recommendations from science to politics
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin involved in drafting position papers on energy and materials research and circular economy:
Experts from HZB have contributed their expertise to the position papers briefly presented here. The topics include the development of innovative materials for a sustainable energy supply and the circular economy.…
Green Methanol: C1 secures another €20 million to commercialize the circular raw material of the future
Construction of a demonstration plant is scheduled to begin in 2025:
Cleantech company C1 Green Chemicals AG has successfully secured €20 million in fresh capital to bring its groundbreaking green methanol catalysis technology to market. Green methanol can be used to defossilize three…
New Young Investigator Group funded by BMBF at HZB
The physicist Dr Artem Musiienko aims to significantly accelerate the development of tin-based perovskite solar cells:
In the COMET-PV project, Dr Artem Musiienko aims to significantly accelerate the development of perovskite solar cells. He is using robotics and AI to analyse the many variations in the material composition of…
Dr. Michelle Browne receives Daimler and Benz Foundation Fellowship
At HZB, she is developing better catalysts for the production of green hydrogen:
Michelle Browne heads a Helmholtz Young Investigators Group on electrocatalysis at HZB. She has now been selected as a fellow of the Daimler and Benz Foundation. She will receive 40,000 euros over the next two years…
Perovskite solar cells under stress test
Research team identifies thermal stresses as the key to long-term stability:
Perovskite solar cells are highly efficient and low cost in production. However, they still lack stability over the decades under real weather conditions. An international research collaboration led by Prof. Antonio…
Leading Sasol scientist appointed as Industrial Research Fellow at HZB
The closer cooperation is intended to accelerate the innovation cycle for sustainable fuel technologies:
Within the CARE-O-SENE project, HZB is cooperating with the South African company Sasol on innovative catalysts for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Now, the collaboration is intensifying: Dr. Denzil Moodley, a…
New material for extracting carbon dioxide from air and exhaust gases
Quantum chemical calculations by HU enable the development of porous materials distinct by a high adsorption capacity for CO₂:
Climate experts agree: To tackle the climate crisis, we will not only need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions but also directly filter the harmful gas from air and exhaust gases. To this end, scientists are…
Developing catalysts with robots and AI
Dunia wants to protect Earth from its increasing destruction:
The Adlershof-based start-up Dunia has established a highly systematic approach to material development. A self-repeating cycle in four steps: Design – Make – Test – Analyse. What sets Dunia's approach apart is the…
Significant energy savings through optimised operation of the Metrology Light Source
At PTB's Willy Wien Laboratory, 45 kW of electrical power is permanently saved by adjusting the operating parameters:
PTB uses the Metrology Light Source (MLS) electron storage ring at the Willy Wien Laboratory in Berlin-Adlershof as a very bright and calculable light source for radiometric work in the vacuum and extreme ultraviolet…
The molecule splitter
Michelle Brown is working on producing green hydrogen:
Splitting water—using electrical energy to break the H₂O molecule into its gaseous components, hydrogen and oxygen, to be exact. Could this process be made cheaper, simpler, and more efficient? This question has…
Lithium-sulphur pouch cells investigated at BESSY II
HZB team is working on optimising this promising battery type:
A team from HZB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) in Dresden has gained new insights into lithium-sulphur pouch cells at the BAMline of BESSY II. Supplemented by analyses in the HZB…
Modernisation of BESSY II light source
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin presents the BESSY II+ upgrade programme:
At the 2024 meeting for the users of the electron storage ring BESSY II, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) presented the BESSY II+ upgrade programme. It enables world-class research at BESSY II to be further expanded and…
Community-driven mini-grids in Nigeria
RLI research project shows ways to sustainably electrify rural regions:
In the project ‘Communities of Practice Nigeria’ (CP Nigeria), researchers from Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI), together with experts from partner organizations, have developed results for the promotion of clean and…
Why an economical Iridium catalyst works so well
An HZB team revealed that the special chemical environment in the P2X catalyst promotes water splitting during electrolysis:
Iridium-based catalysts are needed to produce hydrogen using water electrolysis. Now, a team at HZB has shown that the newly developed P2X catalyst, which requires only a quarter of the Iridium, is as efficient and…
High-performance charging for e-buses in public transport also possible without grid expansion
Successful outcome of the ‘Buffered-HLL’ pilot project for energy- and cost-efficient charging with flywheel mass storage systems:
The nationwide pioneering pilot project ‘Buffered-HLL’ for energy- and cost-efficient high-performance charging with flywheel mass storage for electric buses in local public transport successfully concludes its…
Advanced low-loss materials for quantum technologies
Kick-off for the ‘MagSQuant’ project coordinated by IKZ:
The joint project ‘Low-loss materials for integrated magnonic-superconducting quantum technologies’ (MagSQuant) is the start of a new initiative to significantly increase the performance and scalability of…
New energy, new connections
Introducing an innovative world of work, ST3AM is now opening on the Adlershof campus:
Wealthy regions offer talent, technology—research, development, and academia—, tolerance—communities that practice openness and diversity—, and land available for development. This is complemented by other ecological…