Slovenian president awards HZB scientist with "Apple of Inspiration"
Marko Topic, Bernd Rech, Janez Krc, Benjamin Lipovsek, Steve Albrecht, Marko Jost, Borut Pahor (f.l.t.r) © Faculty of electrical engineering University of Ljubljana
© Joze Suhadolnik
Marko Jošt, Steve Albrecht and Bernd Rech, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) receive a rare award today, 19 December 2018. In the slovenian Grand Hall of Presidential Palace, the Slovenian President, Borut Pahor, presents them with the "Apple of Inspiration". It honours achievements in culture, science, sport and society. The Berlin scientists are the first foreigners who receive the prize together with colleagues from the University of Ljubljana.
The teams from Ljubljana and Berlin are honored for their long-standing collaboration, which has led to milestones in the development of perovskite solar cells. This is documented, for example, by a joint publication in the renowned journal Energy and Environmental Science on an efficiency record for a monolithic tandem solar cell made of silicon and perovskite layers.
Dr. Marko Jošt, who was the first author of the study and contributed significantly to the joint results, received his doctorate both at the University of Ljubljana and at the TUB. Today he is a postdoctoral researcher at the HZB.
The excellent international cooperation not only inspires young scientists in Slovenia, but also contributes to further strengthening research into alternative energy sources, according to the Slovenian government. "International cooperation and the results achieved are of great importance for society. They help to find solutions for a sustainable energy turnaround and thus also to fight against climate change and thus secure our livelihoods".
Prof. Steve Albrecht, head of a BMBF-funded junior research group at the HZB and junior professor at the TUB, is the coordinator of the mentioned study. In cooperation with the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT and the Photovoltaic Competence Centre PVcomB, he develops and analyses the very complex tandem cells with the aim of leading them to a greater technological maturity.
Prof. Bernd Rech, solar researcher and currently acting scientific director of the HZB, initiated the German-Slovenian cooperation together with the Slovenian professor Marko Topic. Among other things, he was a visiting professor at the University of Ljubljana in 2014. The close cooperation continues to this day. Marko Jost, the joint doctoral student at the time, is now a postdoctoral researcher in Steve Albrecht's group.
- How carbonates influence CO2-to-fuel conversionResearchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI) have uncovered how carbonate molecules affect the conversion of CO2 into valuable fuels on gold electrocatalysts. Their findings reveal key molecular mechanisms in CO2 electrocatalysis and hydrogen evolution, pointing to new strategies for improving energy efficiency and reaction selectivity.
- Peat as a sustainable precursor for fuel cell catalyst materialsIron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and universities in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia. At BESSY II, the team observed the formation of complex microstructures within various samples. They then analysed which structural parameters were particularly important for fostering the preferred electrochemical reactions. The raw material for such catalysts is well decomposed peat.
- Helmholtz Investigator Group on magnonsDr Hebatalla Elnaggar is setting up a new Helmholtz Investigator Group at HZB. At BESSY II, the materials scientist will investigate so-called magnons in magnetic perovskite thin films. The aim is to lay the foundations for future terahertz magnon technology: magnonic devices operating in the terahertz range could process data using a fraction of the energy required by the most advanced semiconductor devices, and at speeds up to a thousand times faster.