Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin is a bicycle-friendly employer
Am HZB können Mitarbeitende ihre Fahrräder regelmäßig auf Verkehrssicherheit überprüfen lassen. © HZB
Since 2017, the German Cyclists' Federation (ADFC) has been awarding the EU-wide "Bicycle-Friendly Employer" certification. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has now been awarded the coveted silver seal. With this, the HZB wants to be even more attractive as an employer, especially for international applicants.
Those who encourage employees to cycle benefit in several ways. Bicycle-friendly employers save resources, as bicycle parking is ultimately cheaper and requires less space than car parking spaces. Regular cycling improves health and increases motivation. Attractive cycling offers also count in the competition for skilled labour.
Sara Tsudome, Project Manager at the ADFC Association, says: "The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin supports employees who cycle to work with many different measures. This brings many advantages: The employer can score points in terms of company health, environmental and mobility management."
The certification also contributes to an important goal. HZB wants to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2035. Commuting to work causes high emissions, as the recently published greenhouse gas balance sheet of the HZB shows. Promoting cycling and improving the cycling infrastructure is therefore an important factor.
HZB was awarded the "Bicycle-Friendly Employer" certificate based on on-site inspections at the Berlin-Adlershof and Berlin-Wannsee sites and the documents submitted in advance. "The initial idea came from our Sustainability Officer, Dr Karin Haas. It took more than two years to receive the certificate," says Roswitha Schabardin, who was appointed as the bicycle coordinator. A large project team at HZB has initiated various measures in recent months (see below).
These endeavours by the HZB will continue in the coming years. "In three years' time, we will be re-certified by the ADFC. Perhaps we will then achieve gold status. But there's still some work to do. We received a number of recommendations in the audit report, including further roofing for the new bicycle racks," says Roswitha Schabardin.
Measures implemented at HZB (selection):
- regular bike checks in late summer / autumn
- new bicycle racks at the Adlershof site
- Bicycle repair stations
- Directions for cyclists to both campsites on the Internet
- Bike safety presentations followed by training rides
- new company bicycles at both locations
- Acquisition of cargo bikes at the Adlershof site
- regular participation of the HZB in STADTRADELN
- Test days for e-bikes
- regular health checks and health management
- 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.