EU project CALIPSOplus has started for free access to European light sources
Light sources collaborating in CALIPSOplus
The EU is providing ten million euros in funding for the project CALIPSOplus, submitted by 19 European light sources. The project consortium, of which Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is a member, kicked off on May 2017. CALIPSOplus is aimed at promoting the international exchange of scientists and transnational access to the light sources in Europe. Other priorities are to integrate the relatively less active regions of Europe and to initiate research projects with small and mid-sized companies.
CALIPSOplus has a runtime of four years and is coordinated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. In the scope of CALIPSOplus, HZB manages the work package “Dissemination and Training” and is involved in the research project MOONPICS on the metrology of nanometre lenses.
The project partners will be taking targeted measures to advertise the outstanding analytical methods available here to researchers from Central and Eastern Europe who have so far rarely used the European light sources. This will help to integrate them more strongly into the European scientific landscape. “It is important that we approach the scientists from these countries in person, locally, and promote the opportunities at the light sources. So it’s great that the training programme is one of the priorities of CALIPSOplus,” says Dr. Antje Vollmer, who is coordinating the activities for HZB and who manages user coordination at HZB. Among other things, HZB is planning workshops at universities of the 13 youngest EU countries. Furthermore, there will be a “twinning and exchange programme” that will invite scientists from these countries to collaborate on an equal footing with experienced users of light sources.
The kick-off event for CALIPSOplus was held at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) on 18 and 19 May 2017. More information
Website Wayforlight
Wayforlight.eu is currently being expanded and provides information about the experimental stations at Europe’s light sources and details on how to apply for measuring time.
- Helmholtz Doctoral Award for Hanna TrzesniowskiDuring her doctoral studies at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Hanna Trzesniowski conducted research on nickel-based electrocatalysts for water splitting. Her work contributes to a deeper understanding of alkaline water electrolysis and paves the way for the development of more efficient and stable catalysts. On 8 July 2025, she received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize, which honours the best and most original doctoral theses in the Helmholtz Association.
- Research up close! The Long Night of Science at HZBOn 28 June, it's that time again: the Long Night of Science will take place from 5 pm to midnight in Berlin and also in Adlershof! Come around and take a look behind the scenes of our exciting research.
- HZB and National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy start cooperation in Energy and ClimateHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) and the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" (NaUKMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU serves as the starting point for collaborative research, academic exchange, and capacity-building between the two institutions. Actions will be taken to establish the Joint Research and Policy Laboratory at NaUKMA in Kyiv. The aim of the future laboratory is to jointly develop research and policy analysis, focusing on the energy and climate dimensions of Ukraine’s EU integration.