Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde was a guest of HZB
Tour at BESSY II.
Tour through the experimental hall of BER II.
From 15 to 16 March, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde, DGM (German association of materials science), held its closed board meeting and Advisory Council meeting at HZB. The experts took the occasion to visit the synchrotron source BESSY II and the neutron source BER II, gaining an insight into important future projects of HZB.
“It was a great pleasure to be host to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde, where we had the opportunity to present Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin’s strategies and research infrastructures, which external researchers are also very welcome to use,“ says Prof. Dr. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, scientific director of HZB.
The board members of the DGM visited the control room and experimental hall of BESSY II on 15 March. On 16 March, the DGM Advisory Council toured the neutron guide hall at BER II and the CoreLab “Correlative Microscopy and Spectroscopy”, which is home to latest generation ZEISS electron and ion microscopes for use by external users and employees of HZB.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde is dedicated to promoting continual advancements in topics, structures and careers in the field of materials science and engineering. Its strategies include fostering cooperation between universities, research institutions, companies, and national and international partners, and promoting new collaborative projects. The DGM organises many symposia and congresses that are also important information exchange platforms for many scientists of HZB.
- Key technology for a future without fossil fuelsIn June and July 2025, catalyst researcher Nico Fischer spent some time at HZB. It was his sabbatical, he was relieved of his duties as Director of the Catalysis Institute in Cape Town for several months and was able to focus on research only. His institute is collaborating with HZB on two projects that aim to develop environmentally friendly alternatives using innovative catalyst technologies. The questions were asked by Antonia Rötger, HZB.
- 5000th patient treated with protons for eye tumoursFor more than 25 years, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have been jointly offering proton radiation therapy for eye tumours. The HZB operates a proton accelerator in Berlin-Wannsee for this purpose, while Charité provides medical care for the patients. The 5000th patient was treated at the beginning of August.
- Iridium-free catalysts for acid water electrolysis investigatedHydrogen will play an important role, both as a fuel and as a raw material for industry. However, in order to produce relevant quantities of hydrogen, water electrolysis must become feasible on a multi-gigawatt scale. One bottleneck is the catalysts required, with iridium in particular being an extremely rare element. An international collaboration has therefore investigated iridium-free catalysts for acidic water electrolysis based on the element cobalt. Through investigations with various methods, among them experiments at the LiXEdrom at the BESSY II X-ray source in Berlin, they were able to elucidate processes that take place during water electrolysis in a cobalt-iron-lead oxide material as the anode. The study is published in Nature Energy.