Two new Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups will start in 2019
Starting in 2019, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be establishing two new Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups and thereby strengthening its competencies in catalysis research. The Helmholtz Association will be funding each group with 150,000 euros annually over a period of five years, and HZB will be matching that sum with its own funds.
The group of Dr. Christopher Seiji Kley will be developing light-absorbing materials and catalysts for the sunlight-driven conversion of carbon dioxide and water into fuels. The Young Investigator Group will be introducing concepts inspired from biology as a way to increase the catalysts’ energy efficiency and to maximise the catalytic activity for longer-chain hydrocarbons. The planned start for the group is in March 2019.
Dr. Olga Kasian’s group will be researching what are the factors currently limiting the performance of catalysts in solar hydrogen production. To do so, they will be analysing the catalysts’ uppermost atomic layers and explaining the reaction mechanisms by directly detecting the intermediates and products. BESSY II offers the latest spectroscopic methods for studying the electronic changes in the materials in-operando. Olga Kasian’s Young Investigator Group will kick off in May 2019.
Two out of ten new Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups at HZB
In the recent selection process for heads of Young Investigator Groups, an interdisciplinary jury selected ten talents from a total of 23 applicants. HZB came out very successfully in the selection round: out of ten newly funded Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups, two are to be established at HZB in 2019.
About the “Helmholtz Young Investigators” programme
The research programme fosters highly qualified young researchers who completed their doctorate three to six years ago. The heads of the Young Investigator Groups receive support through a tailored training and mentoring programme and are assured long-term prospects at HZB. One aim of the programme is to strengthen the networking of Helmholtz centres and universities. The costs – 300,000 euros per year per group over five years – are covered half by the Helmholtz President’s Initiative and Networking Fund, and half by the Helmholtz centres.
- AI-driven Catalyst Discovery: €30 million funding for German consortiumSix partners from research and industry, including Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI), BASF, Dunia Innovations, Siemens Energy, and the Technical University Berlin are launching a joint project to accelerate the catalyst discovery. The German Federal Ministry for Science, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is providing €30 million in funding for ASCEND (Accelerated Solutions for Catalysis using Emerging Nanotechnology and Digital Innovation). The research initiative targets the defossilisation of energy-intensive industries while safeguarding industrial competitiveness, with a focus on the chemical sector. The five-year project will start on 1st April 2026.
- Kick-off for a new data and AI centre in BerlinBy establishing a new data and AI centre in Berlin, the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) are laying the foundations for a scalable and sovereign data infrastructure in the capital. The project strengthens the scientific capabilities of Berlin’s research community whilst making an important contribution to research security, resilience and technological independence.
- Berlin Battery Lab: BAM, HZB and HU are conducting joint research on sodium batteriesThe Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) today officially inaugurated the Berlin Battery Lab (BBL). At this new research platform, BAM, HZB and HU jointly develop and test resource-efficient battery technologies with a focus on sodium-based systems. Together, they develop new materials, investigate innovative cell chemistries, and produce battery prototypes. The research infrastructure of the Berlin Battery Lab is also open to external partners from science and industry and is designed to accelerate the transfer from research to application.