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…
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…
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 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 long do perovskite solar cells last?
Study from the HZB shows which methods are useful for predicting long-term stability and where further research is needed:
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) could conquer the mass market within a few years, perhaps even being produced in Europe. Their large-scale production is highly cost-effective, and unlike silicon solar cells, their…
Humboldt-Universität and quantumReality extend their research collaboration in electrochemistry
Successful Research Collaboration Enters the Next Phase: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Potsdam-based Science VC quantumReality Extend Cooperation to Develop Digital Twins for Electrolysis Plants by Two Years with…
Materials chemistry shapes the future of catalysis
Emerging developments in operando analytics, data-driven discovery and autonomous robotics are transforming synthesis into the central tool for the targeted development of smart and adaptive electrocatalysts:
The synthesis of materials can serve as a tool for developing smart, adaptive electrocatalysts. This rapidly evolving field of research involves in-situ analytics, data-driven discoveries and autonomous robotics.…
New calculator supports the planning of electric commercial vehicle fleets
Reiner Lemoine Institute develops an easy-to-use, hands-on service for businesses:
Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) has released the STELE Calculator, a new online tool designed to help companies plan their fleets of heavy-duty and commercial electric vehicles. For the first time, the tool enables a…
Electrocatalysts: New model for charge separation at the solid-liquid interface
New model describes the processes at the interface for the first time, thereby enabling targeted strategies for material design:
Hydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, as both an energy carrier and a reagent for green chemistry. However, large-scale production of hydrogen via electrolysis, as well as the production of…
Humboldt Fellows at HZB Institute for Solar Fuels
Grants for two researchers are funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation:
Alexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing…
Einstein Professorship for HU chemist Kallol Ray
The Einstein Foundation is funding the scientist’s research in the field of green chemistry:
Chemist and leading expert in bioinorganic chemistry and catalysis Prof. Dr. Kallol Ray will receive an Einstein Professorship from 1 April. His research in the field of green chemistry will be funded. Kallol Ray is…
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.…
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…
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…
A proving ground for pioneers
Researchers and developers at the Adlershof Technology Park are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector:
The aviation pioneer Melli Beese died a century ago. In the very place that she once helped shape, researchers and developers are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector—with excellent technologies…
Energy-efficient renovation of your own home
Research project shows need for information and helps with online guide:
It is difficult for homeowners to get an overview of the topic of energy-efficient building renovation. There is a lack of information, especially with regard to suitable heating technologies, subsidy conditions and…
Flexibility could reduce electricity generation from gas-fired power plants by up to 45 percent by 2045
Analysis by BUND and Gaswende with calculations by RLI shows advantages of flexibility in the energy system:
The German government is currently pushing ahead with the construction of new climate-damaging gas-fired power plants as part of its power plant strategy. A new analysis by the organizations Bund für Umwelt und…
Bright prospects for tin perovskite solar cells
Tin-based perovskites promise enormous potential for the production of environmentally friendly, stable solar cells:
Perovskite solar cells are widely regarded as the next generation photovoltaic technology. However, they are not yet stable enough in the long term for widespread commercial use. One reason for this is migrating ions,…
Joint Kyiv Energy and Climate Lab goes live
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy establish joint centre for research and education:
The Academic Council of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy approved the establishment of KECLab - the Kyiv Energy and Climate Lab. KECLab is designed to become a modern, internationally connected energy…