Alliance Building Integrated Photovoltaics: Björn Rau joins Management Board
Semi transparent PV-elements in the train station in Perpignan, France. © CC 3.0/Issolsa
The General Meeting of Alliance for Builiding Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has unanimously elected physicist and photovoltaic expert Dr. Björn Rau, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, to the BIPV Management Board.
Dr. Björn Rau is Deputy Director of PVcomB at the HZB and has been involved in Alliance BIPV since mid-2016. He already heads the research group of Alliance BIPV and accepted the nomination to stand for election to the Board at the recent General Meeting. In his nomination speech, he emphasised the variety of research expertise found within the circle of members: “Not everyone is aware yet of what each of us is working on. We have an opportunity to expand the transfer of knowledge.” By means of an active exchange, he would like above all to promote practical cooperation between the members and build bridges between the various players in the BIPV sector.
The general meeting elected Rau as well as six other candidates as new Board Members.
More information: Allianz BIPV e.V. was founded as a registered association in April 2016. Its goal is to lead integrated photovoltaics in buildings from being a niche application into broad employment. Integrated solar systems should become a normal component of buildings. Renowned manufacturers, research institutions, architects, planners, and consultants are involved in the Alliance BIPV.
www.allianz-bipv.org
- 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.
- New department at HZB: ‘AI and Biomolecular Structures’Since 1 July 2025, Dr. Andrea Thorn has been setting up the new AI and Biomolecular Structures department at HZB. A biophysicist with many years of experience in AI-based tools for structural biology, she is looking forward to collaborating closely with the macromolecular crystallography team at the MX beamlines of BESSY II.
- Almost 4,000 People at the Long Night of the Sciences at HZBHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was delighted to welcome nearly 4,000 visitors to its Adlershof campus for the Long Night of the Sciences. It was a fantastic celebration of science, and we thank all our guests for their great interest.