New Opportunities for students in energy research:
Leading scientists presented the research programme for the two new graduate schools, HZB is organising together with HUB and UP.
© Jennifer Bierbaum/HZB
HZB starts two Graduate Schools with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Universität Potsdam
Friday, 27 March 2015, the start of two new graduate schools on solar energy research was celebrated at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). Hybrid4Energy, the Graduate School of Hybrid Materials for Efficient Energy Generation and Information Technologies, is a joint venture of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HUB) and HZB. The Graduate School HyPerCell focuses on a new type of thin film solar cells based on hybrid perovskite absorber materials and is organised by Universität Potsdam (UP) and HZB.
Opened by Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Scientific Director HZB, Prof. Jan-Hendrick Olbertz, President HUB and Prof. Robert Seckler, Vice President for Research and Junior Academics at UP, leading scientists of HZB and both universities gave overviews about the research programmes.
Hybrid4Energy, the Graduate School of Hybrid Materials for Efficient Energy Generation and Information Technologies, is a coordinated programme of the HUB and the HZB. It offers a structured, three-year period of multidisciplinary lectures and research on hybrid organic/inorganic systems for electronic, optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. The knowledge gained will then be applied to the fields of renewable energy and next generation information technology. The programme embraces the full range of experiments and theory, physics and chemistry, as well as fundamental and applied research. This will allow the participants to bridge commonly separated disciplines of research, which will enable novel research approaches and concepts. The research-based training will be supplemented by measures to support the provision of key competences, under the guidance of the Humboldt Graduate School (HGS) of the HUB.
The Graduate School on Perovskites, HyPerCell, is organized by Universität Potsdam (UP) and HZB. Students will work on a new type of thin film solar cells based on so-called organometallic perovskites. Despite the recent achievements reported for perovskite-based solar cells, many basic material properties including charge transport and recombination processes are not yet understood on a fundamental level. Currently, the highest efficiencies for these solar cells are achieved using a lead-based compound. Therefore a partial or complete replacement of this metal by a non-toxic alternative will be one of the goals of the research programme. Since research on perovskite solar cells is highly interdisciplinary, the school will provide PhD students with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the chemistry and physics of perovskite-based tandem devices during a structured, three-year curriculum. The programme comprises lectures, lab-courses, workshops and seminar, offered by renowned specialists in their respective field. The research-based training will be supplemented by measures to support the provision of key competences, under the guidance of the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS) of the UP.
More Information on Hybrid4Energy
More Information on HyPerCell
- Lithium-sulphur batteries with lean electrolyte: problem areas clarifiedUsing a non-destructive method, a team at HZB investigated practical lithium-sulphur pouch cells with lean electrolyte for the first time. With operando neutron tomography, they could visualise in real-time how the liquid electrolyte distributes and wets the electrodes across multilayers during charging and discharging. These findings offer valuable insights into the cell failure mechanisms and are helpful to design compact Li-S batteries with a high energy density in formats relevant to industrial applications.
- Self assembling monolayer can improve lead-free perovskite solar cells tooTin 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 succeeded in reducing losses in the lower contact layer of tin perovskite solar cells: The scienstists identified chemical compounds that self-assemble into a molecular layer that fits very well with the lattice structure of tin perovskites. On this monolayer, tin perovskite with excellent optoelectronic quality can be grown, which increases the performance of the solar cell.
- Berlin Science Award goes to Philipp AdelhelmBattery 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 HU and the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The materials scientist and electrochemist is investigating sustainable batteries, which play a key role in the success of the energy transition. He is one of the leading international experts in the field of sodium-ion batteries.