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…
DFG continues to fund the HU project consortium FAIRmat until the end of 2038
In the new funding period, FAIRmat is placing greater emphasis on AI for data-driven science:
FAIRmat is a consortium for data infrastructure in the materials sciences, which has been coordinated by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) since its foundation in 2021. It forms part of the National Research Data…
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 sample environment at BESSY II allows glimpse into thermocatalytic processes
A novel measurement cell allows, for the first time, X-ray investigations under high pressures and temperatures:
A novel measurement cell allows, for the first time, soft and hard X-ray investigations under high pressures of up to 20 bar and temperatures of up to 400°C. This provides new insights into thermocatalytic processes,…
IKZ impresses in Leibniz evaluation with top rating and strategic momentum
Funding for the institute confirmed for a further seven-year period:
The Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) has successfully completed its periodic evaluation by the Leibniz Association. The Leibniz Senate reviewed the evaluation report in July 2026 and confirmed the…
New insights into quantum materials using magnetic imaging
Micro-flowers increase the local magnetic field and expand the range of applications for photoemission electron microscopy:
Materials with magnetic nanostructures have many potential applications such as in spintronics. To explore such materials, nanoscale magnetic-sensitive imaging techniques are very useful, but up to now only weak…
In synch with success
Two companies who broke out in Adlershof now move into their own headquarters:
Both began life as start-ups in Adlershof and are now, as medium-sized companies, moving into their own headquarters on the site. Music is important to both founders, not only in terms of business. “Not the trombone.…
FAIRmat Wins European Digital Skills Award
The consortium for research data infrastructure in materials science, coordinated by Humboldt-Universität, has been recognized by the European Commission:
As research becomes increasingly data-driven, it is more important than ever to organize scientific data in ways that allow researchers, software tools, and artificial intelligence systems to use them effectively. The…
Materials research: BESSY and the bronze sword
A historic artefact was examined at the Adlershof Particle Accelerator:
A weapon is not the sort of object you would expect to find at a particle accelerator. Yet earlier this year, a Bronze Age sword found its way to Berlin: 60 centimetres long, richly decorated, more than 3,400 years…
Choreography in bronze
Traditional craftsmanship creates contemporary one-of-a-kind works at Kunstgießerei Altglienicke:
Bronze casting is one of the oldest techniques used in the history of art. At Kunstgießerei Altglienicke, Anke Schirlitz is carrying on this tradition and love for art. An art historian and cultural manager by trade,…
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…
BAM takes a key role in major European research project
The EU project MaterialsCommons is establishing a networked data and AI infrastructure for materials research:
The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is taking on a central role in the major European project “MaterialsCommons”, which kicked off in June. Coordinated by Fraunhofer IWM, 26 research…
Superconducting TES array X-ray spectrometer goes into operation at BESSY II
The instrument is around 100 to 1,000 times more efficient at detecting photons than conventional devices:
The TES-Spectrometer was developed within a collaboration between the HZB, the MPI-CEC (Mühlheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany) and the NIST (Boulder CO, USA) and is now in operation at BESSY II, as the only TES-Spectrometer…
ASCEND – A New Era in Catalysis
Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär launches €30 million project in Berlin:
On 11 June 2026, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in Adlershof hosted the launch of ASCEND (Accelerated Solutions for Catalysis using Emerging Nanotechnology and Digital Innovation). The event took place in the…
Tutorial on the analysis of liposomes and lipid nanoparticles published
PTB contributes to the measurement of key structural parameters for the characterisation of materials:
Liposomes and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are frequently used as carriers in drug delivery and are able to encapsulate active substances such as nucleic acids and peptides and transport them to the site of treatment in…
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…
X-ray analysis reveals overpainted fascist symbols
At HZB, a work by painter Erich Mercker was examined:
Erich Mercker was a successful painter during the Nazi era and in the years that followed. After 1945, he covered up Nazi symbols in at least one of his paintings. With an interdisciplinary team, physicist Dr Ioanna…