News
Steering 50.000 photovoltaics systems
A new arrival in Adlershof: The innovation for digital power plants created by meteocontrol are in high demand worldwide:
Weather changes, and so do energy yields made from sun, wind or water. Ensuring a reliable supply requires flexible systems that are capable of pooling, storing, and releasing electricity from multiple sources. As a…
Walter-Schottky-Award for Felix Büttner
Award for his outstanding work in solid state research:
The Walter Schottky Prize honours outstanding work by young physicists in solid-state research. For 2022, the award goes to HZB physicist Dr Felix Büttner for his groundbreaking achievements in the field of magnetic…
Another world record for HZB perovskite silicon tandem solar cells
Almost 30 % efficiency for next-generation tandem solar cells:
Three HZB teams led by Prof. Christiane Becker, Prof. Bernd Stannowski and Prof. Steve Albrecht have jointly managed to increase the efficiency of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells fabricated completely at HZB to…
PV and Wind Area Calculator shows potential for expanding renewable energies in Germany
New online tool developed by Reiner Lemoine Institute on behalf of Agora Energiewende was published:
To achieve its climate targets, Germany must use two percent of its surface for wind energy. But conflicts over site selection for new wind turbines and species protection are currently hampering expansion. The think…
Tobias Henschel wins the HZB Technology Transfer Award 2021
Digital bracelet with integrated transparent photovoltaics convinced the jury:
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary wristwatch. But its glass taps the energy of the sun. A research group at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has made this possible. Their transparent photovoltaics have now even made…
How can Berlin become climate neutral?
In a new study, Reiner Lemoine Institut and partners recommend more than 50 climate protection measures and call for more binding commitments:
Since 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement has set the marching orders for climate protection. In order to achieve the 1.5° target if possible and at least the 2° target, not only the federal government but also all…
River water and deep storage
BTB is making energy supply greener:
As long as it works, we don't even notice it. The infrastructure of our cities is just there, under our feet and above our heads. Most of us simply take it for granted. Until it blacks out—then we notice. To prevent…
![[Translate to English:] Bernd Rech and Christian Rickerts start the Real Lab © HZB / M. Setzpfandt](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/c/csm_Bernd-Rech_Christian-Rickerts_Start-Solarfassade-HZB_f61d1f2d84.webp)
HZB uses electricity-producing facade wall as real laboratory
Solar façade of the new research building in Adlershof was officially commissioned:
In the presence of the State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Energy and Operations of the State of Berlin, Christian Rickerts, the HZB officially commissioned the solar façade of a new research building on 6 September…
Artificial intelligence for a successful energy transition
Data-driven risk assessment offered by variante.energy aims at paving the way to a hundred-percent self-sufficiency with green electricity:
The Adlershof-based founding couple behind variate.energy provide decision-making support for companies, communities, and other organisations that seek to decrease their carbon emissions through wind and solar…
The contribution of decentralized electrolyzers to the energy transition
RLI conducts a study on small electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen on behalf of Greenpeace Energy:
On behalf of Greenpeace Energy, RLI is preparing a study that examines the role of electrolysers for hydrogen production for the energy transition. It focuses in particular on small electrolyzers that could convert…
HZB researchers provide new insights into lead-free perovskite solar cells
How fluoride additives improve quality:
Tin halide perovskites are currently considered the best alternative to their lead-containing counterparts, which are, however, still significantly less efficient and stable. Now, a team led by Prof. Antonio Abate…
Faster development of efficient solar cells and LEDs thanks to LuQY Pro
HZB spin-off QYB Quantum Yield Berlin is launching a measurement instrument for optimising optoelectronic components:
Scientists from the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT at HZB spun off the technology company QYB Quantum Yield Berlin GmbH at the beginning of April 2021. The spin-off is launching LuQY Pro, a ready-to-use measurement…
RLI develops online course on grid integration of e-mobility for RENAC
The course is aimed at grid operators and electricity providers who want to expand their portfolio to include charging infrastructure for e-vehicles:
On behalf of the Renewables Academy (RENAC), RLI has developed an online course that provides a basic introduction to grid integration of e-mobility. The course takes place entirely online and allows learners from…
Specialised in wind harvest
Adlershof's WINDnovation is thinking in terms of recycling when designing rotor blades:
Since its founding in autumn 2007, WINDnovation Engineering Solutions GmbH has truly lived up to its name: The Adlershof-based company has developed over 300 different rotor blades and an array of turbines for…
Dr. Kathrin Goldammer is spokeswoman for the energy technology cluster
The RLI Managing Director has been appointed as spokesperson for the joint energy technology cluster of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg:
RLI Managing Director Kathrin Goldammer has been appointed by Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs Ramona Pop and Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Prof. Jörg Steinbach as spokesperson for the Energy…
Renske van der Veen heads new department “Atomic Dynamics in Light-Energy Conversion” at HZB
The researcher studies catalytic processes that enable the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy:
From June 2021, Dr. Renske van der Veen is setting up a new research group at HZB. The chemist is an expert in time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy and electron microscopy and studies catalytic processes that enable the…
HPS Home Power Solutions joins the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance
The Alliance is part of the European hydrogen strategy to support a sustainable hydrogen economy:
Berlin-based HPS Home Power Solutions, provider of picea, the world's first home solar-hydrogen power plant for completely independent carbon-free electricity use, today announced that it is joining the European Clean…
New insights into the structure of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites
Team at HZB has analysed structural data of photovoltaic materials with a novel model:
In photovoltaics, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have made a rapid career. But many questions about the crystalline structure of this surprisingly complex class of materials remain unanswered. Now, a team at HZB…
Solar cells: Losses made visible on the nanoscale
Researchers from HZB and University of Utah, USA, have shown how contact layers of silicon solar cells generate loss currents and what their physical origin is:
Solar cells made of crystalline silicon achieve peak efficiencies, especially in combination with selective contacts made of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). However, their efficiency is limited by losses in these contact…
HZB team researches inexpensive catalysts for the production of hydrogen
With a new instrument at BESSY II, they show how light activates MoS₂ layers to become catalysts:
Thin films of molybdenum and sulfur belong to a class of materials that can be considered for use as photocatalysts. Inexpensive catalysts such as these are needed to produce hydrogen as a fuel using solar energy.…