Green Fuels and Chemicals
Renewable energy carriers made from light and electricity
The transition to sustainable energy and chemical production is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Green fuels and chemicals offer a way to reduce our dependence on fossil resources, lower carbon emissions, and create cleaner industrial processes. By using renewable energy, innovative active materials and catalysts, and advanced technologies, we at HZB are developing new ways to produce fuels, green hydrogen, and essential chemicals in a more sustainable and efficient manner.
This research is crucial for building a climate-friendly economy, reducing pollution, and securing a greener future.
Research Platform for Catalysis
Together with the Fritz Haber Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, we have pooled our expertise in the fields of catalysis research, thin-film / nanotechnology and operando analysis to create CatLab. As an integrated research platform and part of the Berlin catalysis ecosystem, CatLab generates pioneering knowledge and provides fundamental technological solutions for the development of a green hydrogen economy.
Solar Fuels
Solar energy is not available 24/7. However, it can be stored in the form of chemical bonds – similar to the natural photosynthesis process in plants. At HZB, we develop semiconductors that can make and break chemical bonds at their surfaces under solar illumination. One of the main unsolved challenges in this artificial photosynthesis process is finding semiconductors that are stable under harsh chemical conditions. We are advancing this technology on several aspects: from designing suitable materials and thin films, investigating fundamental charge transfer processes, up to developing water splitting devices.
Novel Materials and Concepts for Green Hydrogen and Chemicals
At HZB, we are conducting research into the electrochemical conversion of renewable feedstocks such as water or carbon dioxide into chemical energy carriers. If this process is powered by green electricity, it enables a sustainable and carbon-neutral pathway to produce fuels and valuable chemicals. The products, such as green hydrogen and hydrocarbons like methane, methanol or ethylene, are critical feedstock chemicals for industry. We address the material design for this conversion, analyze performance bottlenecks, and develop devices to improve scalability.
Our USP – Investigating Materials in Catalysis in Real Time
The development of customized materials for catalysis, coupled with real-time analysis, enables the rapid creation of novel catalysts. During catalytic reactions, many processes occur simultaneously: catalyst surfaces change and volatile intermediates form. Traditional analyses capture only a snapshot, missing how reactions and materials evolve over time. Our advanced in situ and operando methods at our light source BESSY II let us observe these processes at the interfaces in real time, providing valuable insights for understanding limitations, and help us design more effective catalysts.
Collaboration for Innovation
Collaboration is at the heart of our work. We are deeply embedded in the German and global research landscape, partnering with leading researchers and developers to advance innovation in clean fuels and chemicals. Through interdisciplinary teamwork with industry and academic partners in Germany, Europe, and around the world, we drive progress together. Find out more about in our selected projects:
Strong Networks
HZB is part of the Cluster for Excellence UniSysCat, a leading research network in Berlin focused on catalysis for energy conversion, sustainable chemistry, and life sciences. By fostering collaboration between universities and research institutes, UniSysCat accelerates innovation from fundamental science to real-world applications. Through joint projects, shared infrastructure, and talent development, it strengthens Berlin’s research landscape, positioning the city as a global hub for catalysis and sustainable technologies.
Cluster of Excellence UniSysCat
Contact Person
Speaker of the Division Chemical Energy
Experts
Photoelectrochemistry
Operando Analysis in Thermocatalysis
Solid-Liquid Interfaces at the Nanoscale
Materials to Technology in Electrolysis
Video: "We have technology for generating green hydrogen - what is holding back the roll out?" Dr. Michelle Browne
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