Launch of new catalysis centre in HZB-Adlershof
The new CatLab (blue area) will be built in close proximity to BESSY II and other laboratories. © HZB
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is launching a major new project through an interdisciplinary architectural competition: an innovative laboratory and office building for expanding joint catalysis research between the HZB and the Max Planck Society (MPS). Catlab is to become an international beacon for catalysis research that will advance the development of novel catalyst materials urgently needed for the energy transition.
The starting signal has been given: the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is inviting architecture and engineering firms to enter an architectural design competition for an innovative office and laboratory building for conducting advanced research. The building is to meet federal sustainability criteria.
The new building will greatly broaden and enhance R&D activities in the field of catalysis research at all points of the innovation process. Novel catalyst materials are destined to play a central role in the energy transition by helping replace fossil fuels with both hydrogen and synthetic fuels that can be produced using renewable energy.
It is for this reason that the HZB, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, and the Fritz Haber Institute of the MPS are launching the long-term CatLab project in Berlin. The project partners intend to advance the development of energy-related catalysts in CatLab at the HZB-Adlershof site. CatLab’s close proximity to HZB’s BESSY II synchrotron source and its supporting laboratories with their diverse analysis and characterisation methods will produce major synergies.
The building will be located at Magnusstraße 10 in Berlin-Adlershof. An essential feature of the building must be modular expandability. Laboratory and office space should be seamlessly integrated with an Innovation Centre and a data science platform. The laboratory and office requirements that are essential for CatLab should be covered by the initial construction phase. Two further building sections are planned that will provide a location for research activities in the field of Data Science, and establish an anchor for further large industrial collaborations with space for everything from initial exploratory experiments to fully mature applications.
- MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expectedMXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
- AI re-examines dinosaur footprintsFor decades, paleontologists have pondered over mysterious three-toed dinosaur footprints. Were they left by fierce carnivores, gentle plant-eaters, or even early birds? Now, an international team has used artificial intelligence to tackle the problem—creating a free app that readily lets anyone decipher the past.
- HZB expert appointed chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Barcelona Research CentreProf. Dr. Susan Schorr has been appointed to the newly established Scientific Advisory Board of the Barcelona Research Centre in Multiscale Science and Engineering and elected as its chair.