Long night of Sciences at HZB: Experience science up close!
Can you make solar cells from fruit tea? You can find out how at the Long Night of the Sciences. © HZB/P. Dera
Come by and be surprised: Take a look at the accelerator BESSY II during the Long Night of the Sciences. © HZB/M. Setzpfandt
Important info: At the HZB, FFP2 masks are mandatory indoors from the age of 14 during this event.
How can solar cells be produced even more efficiently? Why is "green" hydrogen so important for our future? Why does Berlin need an accelerator to screen materials? The answers are available at the Long Night of the Sciences. On July 2, 2022, 5 p.m. to midnight, HZB opens its doors at the Adlershof site and invites young and old to experiment.
Our researchers will discover new energy materials and develop technologies for a climate-neutral energy supply - a topic that is more topical than ever. Ask us what you always wanted to know about renewable energy. There will be opportunities to do so at the booths or at the lectures on the "Road of Energy" (located at Kekuléstraße) as well as at the panel discussion "No energy transition without hydrogen" at 7 pm in the BESSY lecture hall. We are looking forward to the dialog with you!
We cordially invite you to visit our electron accelerator BESSY II. It provides intense light to develop new solar cells, batteries or catalysts. On a tour through the accelerator you will find out why electrons race in circles at almost the speed of light. Children can participate in a scavenger hunt through the accelerator or experiment in the school lab.
About 100 meters away, at our location in Kekuléstraße 5, photovoltaics experts are setting up an outdoor energy street. There you can experience what working in the lab is like. Among other things, you can build your own solar cells from toothpaste and fruit tea or come to the "Temple of Solar Cells".
Programme
Further information and the exact times of the programme offers mentioned here can be found on our website:
- Programme around BESSY II: Albert-Einstein-Str. 15
- Programme Road of Energy: Kekuléstr. 5
- Info about tickets
- website Long Night of Sciences
Please bring an FFP2 mask for your visit to HZB. Due to the pandemic and construction measures, the number of visitors in the BESSY building will be limited. We ask for your understanding if there are waiting times in front of the building. Thank you very much!
- 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.
- 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.