Registration open for Quantsol Summer School
Learning about solar fuels and photovoltaics goes green. The summerschool takes place from 3. to 10. september 2017 in the idyllic Kleinwalsertal, Austria. © Quantsol/HZB
Last year’s Quantsol students came from all over the world. The location offers space for 56 students. © Quantsol/HZB
Newcomers and young scientists in solar energy research can register now for the 10. International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol). The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau and will be held from 3. to 10. September 2017 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until May 21st, 2017.
“The Quantsol summer school offers a very comprehensive introduction to the field of photovoltaics and photocatalysis and is a great learning experience and a “must attend” for PhD students and postdocs in their early career. In the past, we have received an overwhelmingly positive feedback leading to oversubscription of the school every year” says Prof. Dr. Klaus Lips from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.
Invited speakers, all internationally recognized scientists from leading world institutions, will give lectures covering topics on the fundamental principles of the conversion of solar energy into chemical and electrical energy as well as the physical and technical challenges of their technological implementation. Another focus lies on solar-specific material science and their characterization. In addition, the school will give hands-on training on how to build your own solar cell as well as an introduction to solar cell simulation.
If you are interested to participate in the Quantsol Summer School you can find much more detailed information on our homepage or in our flyer (download right).
The deadline for application is May 21, 2017. Here you get directly to the application form.
If you will not be able to attend this years’ Quantsol summer school – no worries - the next school has already scheduled for September 2 to 9, 2018.
- Shedding light on insulators: how light pulses unfreeze electronsMetal oxides are abundant in nature and central to technologies such as photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Yet, many suffer from poor electrical conduction, caused by strong repulsion between electrons in neighboring metal atoms. Researchers at HZB and partner institutions have shown that light pulses can temporarily weaken these repulsive forces, lowering the energy required for electrons mobility, inducing a metal-like behavior. This discovery offers a new way to manipulate material properties with light, with high potential to more efficient light-based devices.
- 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.
- 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.