HZB is now using green electricity
© sumanley/pixabay
Since 1 January 2020, HZB is drawing 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energies. This reduces CO2 emissions by around 17,400 tons per year (related to 2018). By switching to green electricity, HZB acknowledges its responsibility to contribute to climate protection.
HZB decided to switch to green electricity because it has a very high electricity consumption due to the operation of large technical infrastructures. Until now, HZB has been using conventional electricity. In 2018, HZB's demand for electricity and heat caused a total of 20,097 t CO2. By switching to green electricity, 17,424 t CO2 are now avoided.
The new supplier, enercity AG, was selected in a Europe-wide tender. The electricity provider will supply exclusively green electricity, which must be verified by certificates approved by the Federal Environment Agency's register of proof of origin. These certificates confirm the ecological origin of the electricity. It is expected that the electricity will be generated from hydropower in Scandinavia.
- Precision interface chemistry pushes perovskite solar cells beyond 26% efficiencyAn international research collaboration has developed a new molecular strategy for controlling one of the most critical interfaces in perovskite solar cells. The resulting solar cells reached a power conversion efficiency of 26.19% in the n i p architecture, together with strong operational stability under prolonged illumination and elevated temperature. The results have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
- Perovskite triple-junction solar cells: Even more efficient with GO/SAM bilayersPerovskite semiconductors efficiently convert sunlight into electrical energy; they are also inexpensive and extremely lightweight. A team at HZB has developed a triple-junction solar cell comprising different perovskite semiconductors, with a novel bilayer of graphene oxide (GO) and a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as the hole conductor. This bilayer significantly increases both efficiency and long-term stability. The efficiency of the novel perovskite triple-junction solar cell is 27.3% and shows hardly any decline even after more than 770 hours of operation. The study has been published in the renowned journal Joule.
- Green Deal Ukraїna at the Ukraine Recovery ConferenceEnd of June, the Ukraine Recovery Conference (UCR2026) took place in Gdańsk, Poland. Unlike previous editions, URC2026 introduced a dedicated Energy Platform, jointly organised by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland, which brought together energy-related discussions, announcements, and side events in one place, increasing the visibility and coordination of key energy topics. Green Deal Ukraїna, an initiative coordinated by HZB, organised three events on the sidelines of URC on research and energy topics as part of the conference.