Registration for Summer School Quantsol is now open!
The Quantsol will be held from 2. to 9. September 2018 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria.
© K.Lips /HZB
Learning about solar fuels and photovoltaics goes green: Last year’s Quantsol students came from all over the world to meet solar energy experts in the Austrian Alps. The location offers space for 56 students. © K. Lips /HZB
It is already the eleventh time that the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held from 2. to 9. September 2018 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until May 18th , 2018.
“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 18, 2018.
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 1 to 8, 2019.
- Long-term stability for perovskite solar cells: a big step forwardPerovskite solar cells are inexpensive to produce and generate a high amount of electric power per surface area. However, they are not yet stable enough, losing efficiency more rapidly than the silicon market standard. Now, an international team led by Prof. Dr. Antonio Abate has dramatically increased their stability by applying a novel coating to the interface between the surface of the perovskite and the top contact layer. This has even boosted efficiency to almost 27%, which represents the state-of-the-art. After 1,200 hours of continuous operation under standard illumination, no decrease in efficiency was observed. The study involved research teams from China, Italy, Switzerland and Germany and has been published in Nature Photonics.
- Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overviewHybrid electrocatalysts can produce green hydrogen, for example, and valuable organic compounds simultaneously. This promises economically viable applications. However, the complex catalytic reactions involved in producing organic compounds are not yet fully understood. Modern X-ray methods at synchrotron sources such as BESSY II, enable catalyst materials and the reactions occurring on their surfaces to be analysed in real time, in situ and under real operating conditions. This provides insights that can be used for targeted optimisation. A team has now published an overview of the current state of knowledge in Nature Reviews Chemistry.
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