New charging points for electric cars installed in Adlershof
© HZB/C. Hanke (alle Fotos)
On 14 May 2020, two charging points for electric cars were installed near the BESSY II main building. But not only the hybrid company car fleet is to be charged here. Soon, employees will also have the opportunity to charge their private cars at one of the charging points.
"I am very pleased that we were able to remove the legal obstacles and that the first pillars are now in place at HZB. Two charging points will also be installed at the Wannsee location in a few weeks," says energy manager Carina Hanke from the FM-T department. This should also promote the electromobility of employees* who commute to work by car - a trend that will certainly continue in the coming years. One charging point with two charging points each is reserved for the HZB company car fleet, the other charging point will be available to employees.
The "fuel" will come from the green electricity that HZB obtains from its electricity supplier. Billing and payment are conveniently carried out with your own smartphone via an app. The amount of the fee due for this is currently being determined. We will inform you as soon as the charging points are also available for private vehicles.
- Bright prospects for tin perovskite solar cellsPerovskite solar cells are widely regarded as the next generation photovoltaic technology. However, they are not yet stable enough in the long term for widespread commercial use. One reason for this is migrating ions, which cause degradation of the semiconducting material over time. A team from HZB and the University of Potsdam has now investigated the ion density in four different, widely used perovskite compounds and discovered significant differences. Tin perovskite semiconductors produced with an alternative solvent had a particular low ion density — only one tenth that of lead perovskite semiconductors. This suggests that tin-based perovskites could be used to make solar cells that are not only really environmentally friendly but also very stable.
- 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.
- Susanne Nies appointed to EU advisory group on Green DealDr. Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which aims to support the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. The energy expert has now also been appointed to the European Commission's scientific advisory group to comment on regulatory burdens in connection with the net-zero target (DG GROW).