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.
- Hatice Mutlu appointed to the Helmholtz Institute HIPOLE in JenaProf. Dr Hatice Mutlu is the new professor of sustainable polymer chemistry at HIPOLE Jena, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications. On 17 August 2026, she visited the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof including the BESSY II lightsource and discussed future collaboration with researchers and the board of directors.
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.