Latest news about renewable energies and photovoltaics research
Up to 26,000 electric trucks in Berlin by 2045
Study by Reiner Lemoine Institute and Öko-Institut shows how the electrification of road freight transport can be achieved:
By 2045, up to 26,000 electric trucks with a total electricity demand of up to 430 GWh per year could be registered in Berlin – this corresponds to the annual consumption of around 100,000 households and requires a…
Self assembling monolayer can improve lead-free perovskite solar cells too
At HZB, the performance of non-toxic tin perovskite photovoltaics was increased through targeted molecular design:
Tin perovskite solar cells are not only non-toxic, but also potentially more stable than lead-containing perovskite solar cells. However, they are also significantly less efficient. Now, an international team has…
CommunitE Innovation project aims to strengthen nationwide citizen energy community
Researchers from the Reiner Lemoine Institute provide advisory support:
Mascha Richter, head of the RLI research unit Transformation of Energy Systems, and Philipp Blechinger, head of the research unit Off-Grid Systems and the Reiner Lemoine Graduate School, are joining the advisory board…
Berlin Science Award goes to Philipp Adelhelm
The materials scientist and electrochemist researches and develops sodium-ion batteries at HU and HZB:
Battery researcher Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm has been awarded the 2024 Berlin Science Award. He is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU) and heads a joint research group at…
New Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at HZB on perovskite solar cells
Silvia Mariotti aims to advance the development of multi-junction solar cells made from different perovskite layers:
Silvia Mariotti starts building up the new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group ‘Perovskite-based multi-junction solar cells’. The perovskite expert, who was previously based at Okinawa University in Japan, aims to…
Diffusion of hydrogen in MXene investigated at HZB
Modelling offers a solid foundation for further research with MXene as hydrogen storage systems:
Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as MXene are of great interest for hydrogen storage. An expert from HZB has investigated the diffusion of hydrogen in MXene using density functional theory. This modelling provides…
HZB and National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy start cooperation
Memorandum of Understanding signed for collaborative research, academic exchange, and capacity-building in energy and climate:
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) and the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” (NaUKMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU serves as the starting point for…
MAX IV and BESSY II initiate new collaboration to advance materials science
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin signed a 5-year cooperation agreement with the Swedish national synchrotron laboratory MAX IV:
Swedish national synchrotron laboratory MAX IV and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) with BESSY II light source jointly announce the signing of a 5-year Cooperation Agreement. The new agreement establishes a framework to…
TH Wildau and Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin signed comprehensive cooperation
The aim is to strengthen research and teaching in key technologies:
On 21 May 2025, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement. The aim is to further…
MXenes boost the effectiveness of catalysts for the production of green hydrogen
HZB team shows a new way to highly efficient and inexpensive catalysts:
MXenes are adept at hosting catalytically active particles. This property can be exploited to create more potent catalyst materials that significantly accelerate and enhance the oxygen evolution reaction, which is one…
Customised electrification: How the PeopleSuN project is advancing the energy supply in Nigeria
Findings from RLI research project published:
Four years of research, 4,700 households and businesses surveyed, two tools and a knowledge pool: the PeopleSuN project shows what it takes for off-grid solutions to advance sustainable power supply in Nigeria. The…
New instrument at BESSY II for investigating energy materials
OÆSE endstation in EMIL offers insights into dynamic electrochemical processes:
A new instrument is now available at BESSY II for investigating catalyst materials, battery electrodes and other energy devices under operating conditions: the Operando Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy on EMIL…
A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalyst for producing green hydrogen
The promising material class of clathrates was investigated at BESSY II:
Clathrates are characterised by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now, for the first time, a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen…
Initiative launched for better use of data in the energy sector
OEO Foundry aims to make energy research more efficient, transparent and sustainable:
At the end of March, representatives of the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) of the Universities of Osnabrück and Oldenburg as well as the affiliated institute OFFIS – Institute of Computer Science founded the Open…
Heat storage for a climate-neutral Berlin
RLI project shows potential for better use of waste heat and renewable energy:
Berlin must make its heat supply climate-neutral – this is what the Heat Planning Act stipulates. Heat storage systems play a central role in this. This shows a joint project by the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI), the…