Neutron instrument BioRef arrived safely in Down Under
The SPATZ team of ANSTO was glad about the arrival of the former HZB neutron instrument BioRef. It will be set up until 2018 in Australia. photo: ANSTO.
As reported, the neutron instrument BioRef will be set up at the “Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering” of ANSTO. Approximately 257 components were safely packed in 43 wooden crates weighing just under 30 tonnes for the sea voyage from Hamburg to Port Botany, Australia. On 14 February the colleagues from ANSTO told us: the three shipping containers arrived safely after a two-month journey from Germany.
The ship transporting the packaged crates stopped at seven ports on the 45-day voyage which covered over 11,800 nautical miles.
ANSTO and HZB negotiated the transfer of the instrument from the BER-II Research Reactor at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and renewed a MOU for scientific collaboration with the renowned German research organisation in 2016. The instrument will be set up at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS) until 2018. The new name is SPATZ, the German word for sparrow. It follows the tradition of the naming convention of other instruments at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, which are named after Australian and other fauna. SPATZ will be available for user from Germany, too.
Read more here
- Hatice Mutlu appointed to the Helmholtz Institute HIPOLE in JenaProf. Dr Hatice Mutlu is the new professor of sustainable polymer chemistry at HIPOLE Jena, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications. On 17 August 2026, she visited the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof including the BESSY II lightsource and discussed future collaboration with researchers and the board of directors.
- Five Berlin-based research institutions join forces in data-driven materials researchResearch data is regarded as key to materials research in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Five Berlin-based research institutions have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish long-term collaboration in the fields of research data, data infrastructures and AI.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA 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 several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.