New HZB magazine lichtblick is out
The new HZB magazine lichtblick is out! Topics are: green hydrogen, construction projects and green construction for Ukraine, ... We invite you to browse through the online edition.
> Link to the English online edition
> Link to the German online edition
Excellent job: Michelle Browne was recently honoured with two awards: the Curios Mind Award from Manager Magazine and 3rd place in the Academic Young Talent Award. The lively Irishwoman is working hard towards her dream of producing inexpensive green hydrogen. Michael O. R. Kröher from Manager Magazin portrays the HZB researcher in the cover story of lichtblick.
The green reconstruction of Ukraine: As a candidate for EU accession, Ukraine must initiate a series of reforms and develop a reconstruction plan, all in the midst of the Russian war of aggression. A German-Ukrainian-Polish project aims to help make Ukraine's climate and energy policy fit for EU accession.
There is a lot to do: HZB's first detailed greenhouse gas balance sheet is now available. Climate and Energy Manager Carina Hanke explains in an interview which are the biggest CO2 emitters and what we need to do now to achieve our goal of becoming greenhouse gas neutral by 2035.
Many construction sites: a lot of building work will start in 2024, especially at the Adlershof site. The construction department provides a brief insight into new building projects.
Here’s to good collaboration: How can we work well together at HZB and advance our work culture? The Diversity Officers invited people to discuss these questions. Many employees contributed great ideas.
"We still have to keep banging away at it" This is what our new Equal Opportunities Officer says in an interview. " A lot of people shut their eyes and act as though everything’s just fine. Equality has not been achieved yet, despite all our efforts."
We hope you enjoy reading the latest lichtblick issue!
As always, we are very happy to receive topics, suggestions, and feedback!
- Key technology for a future without fossil fuelsIn June and July 2025, catalyst researcher Nico Fischer spent some time at HZB. It was his sabbatical, he was relieved of his duties as Director of the Catalysis Institute in Cape Town for several months and was able to focus on research only. His institute is collaborating with HZB on two projects that aim to develop environmentally friendly alternatives using innovative catalyst technologies. The questions were asked by Antonia Rötger, HZB.
- Long-term test shows: Efficiency of perovskite cells varies with the seasonScientists at HZB run a long-term experiment on the roof of a building at the Adlershof campus. They expose a wide variety of solar cells to the weather conditions, recording their performance over a period of years. These include perovskite solar cells, a new photovoltaic material offering high efficiency and low manufacturing costs. Dr Carolin Ulbrich and Dr Mark Khenkin evaluated four years of data and presented their findings in Advanced Energy Materials. This is the longest series of measurements on perovskite cells in outdoor use to date. The scientists found that standard perovskite solar cells perform very well during the summer months, even over several years, but decline in efficiency during the darker months.
- Sodium-ion batteries: New storage mechanism for cathode materialsLi-ion and Na-ion batteries operate through a process called intercalation, where ions are stored and exchanged between two chemically different electrodes. In contrast, co-intercalation, a process in which both ions and solvent molecules are stored simultaneously, has traditionally been considered undesirable due to its tendency to cause rapid battery failure. Against this traditional view, an international research team led by Philipp Adelhelm has now demonstrated that co-intercalation can be a reversible and fast process for cathode materials in Na-ion batteries. The approach of jointly storing ions and solvents in cathode materials provides a new handle for designing batteries with high efficiency and fast charging capabilities. The results are published in Nature Materials.