Another innovative EU project with HZB participation kicked off
Symbol picture for BIPV (University of Zurich (Zh) - 100 kWp) © Planeco GmbH
The CUSTOM-ART consortium consists of 17 academic and industrial partners, involving world leading groups and main European actors involved in the development of kesterite technologies. It leads an ambitious and disruptive project for the development and demonstration of the next generation of building and product integrated photovoltaic modules (BIPV and PIPV) based on abundant thin-film materials. The project started September, 1st 2020 and will run for 3.5 years.
HZB contributes to the technology development by systematically investigating the structure-function relationship of kesterite-type materials as one of quaternary chalcogenide compound semiconductors. HZB will study the influence of alkali doping on the point defect scenario and level of structural disorder. These studies will rely on detailed structural investigations of kesterite-type monograins (based on neutron diffraction and multiple energy anomalous X-ray diffraction). Also HZB will contribute with combinatorial high-throughput materials optimization applying especially advanced optoelectronic analytics. HZB has a share of 550 TEUR out of the total funding based on budgeted total costs of 8M€.
- Energy of charge carrier pairs in cuprate compoundsHigh-temperature superconductivity is still not fully understood. Now, an international research team at BESSY II has measured the energy of charge carrier pairs in undoped La₂CuO₄. Their findings revealed that the interaction energies within the potentially superconducting copper oxide layers are significantly lower than those in the insulating lanthanum oxide layers. These results contribute to a better understanding of high-temperature superconductivity and could also be relevant for research into other functional materials.
- Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overviewHybrid electrocatalysts can produce green hydrogen, for example, and valuable organic compounds simultaneously. This promises economically viable applications. However, the complex catalytic reactions involved in producing organic compounds are not yet fully understood. Modern X-ray methods at synchrotron sources such as BESSY II, enable catalyst materials and the reactions occurring on their surfaces to be analysed in real time, in situ and under real operating conditions. This provides insights that can be used for targeted optimisation. A team has now published an overview of the current state of knowledge in Nature Reviews Chemistry.
- Successful master's degree in IR thermography on solar facadesWe are delighted to congratulate our student employee Luca Raschke on successfully completing her Master's degree in Renewable Energies at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin - and with distinction!