News
Smartphone rapid test detects microbiologically contaminated water in less than a minute
BAM research team developed a highly sensitive detection method for urobilin:
Microbiologically contaminated water poses a significant health risk worldwide – especially in areas where laboratories are scarce and rapid testing is crucial. Researchers at the Federal Institute for Materials…
HU researchers develop molecular clamps controlled by light
The molecular photoswitches use light to adjust mechanical strain, enabling on-demand control of chemical reactions:
Controlling exactly when and where chemical reactions take place remains one of the central challenges in modern chemistry. Heat, mixing, or catalysts typically affect entire systems at once, offering little spatial…
AI-driven Catalyst Development: €30 Million Funding for German Consortium
The ASCEND project to accelerate material development launches on April 1:
Six partners from research and industry, including the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI), BASF, Siemens Energy, Dunia Innovations, and the Technical University…
DGKK Young Scientist Award for Dr. Moritz Badtke
The researcher made a significant contribution to the further development of laser crystals:
The 2026 DGKK Young Scientist Award is awarded to Dr. Moritz Badtke for his outstanding dissertation in the field of novel laser crystals. With this award, the German society for crystal growth (DGKK) honors…
Digitization of semiconductor epitaxy for power electronics
Joint project “Epi-Techno-Digital” launched with the participation of IKZ, FBH and HU Berlin:
The BMFTR joint project “Digitization for semiconductor epitaxy layers with large band gaps for power electronics” was officially launched with a kick-off meeting hosted by the project coordinator AIXTRON SE in…
Berlin Battery Lab officially inaugurated
BAM, HZB and HU are conducting joint research on sodium batteries:
The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) officially inaugurated the Berlin Battery Lab (BBL) on 19 March. At this new…
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.…
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…
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…
MP2E Solutions and LUM launch a strategic partnership
Advanced solutions and expertise for the French business market:
LUM is a renowned authority in scientific and measurement-technology expertise, specializing in particle characterization, stability evaluation of suspensions and emulsions, determination of adhesive strengths and…
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…
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…
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…
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…