The future of BESSY

This is what the successor source BESSY III could look like in the future.

This is what the successor source BESSY III could look like in the future. © Rendering: HZB

At the end of February 2024, a team at HZB published an article in Synchrotron Radiation News (SRN). They describe the next development goals for the light source as well as the BESSY II+ upgrade programme and the successor source BESSY III.

In autumn 2023, HZB celebrated 25 years of research at the BESSY II light source in Berlin-Adlershof. To continue offering scientists from all over the world the best research opportunities in the coming decades, it is important to have a vision for BESSY II. In addition, many light sources around the world are currently being modernised or even newly built to keep up with the latest research questions and contribute with state-of-the art research infrastructures.

The article "Material Discovery at BESSY" shows the relevance of BESSY light source for the research questions of the future. The HZB team describes the goals of the BESSY II+ upgrade programme. Among other things, the programme aims to expand operando techniques that are of great benefit in developing materials for the energy transition.
BESSY II+ is a bridge between BESSY II and the successor source BESSY III, which is scheduled to go into operation in the mid-2030s. It is set to become the "materials discovery machine": a combination of the extremely bright, soft 4th generation light source, the integrated research campus in Berlin-Adlershof and the quantitative measurement capabilities of the national metrology institute (PTB, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt)
from synchrotron research.

The article has been published in open access and can be read in the journal SRN, which specialises in synchrotron research.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2024.2312051

  • Copy link

You might also be interested in

  • New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cells
    Science Highlight
    16.07.2026
    New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cells
    A 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.
  • BESSY II: New sample environment allows glimpse into thermocatalytic processes
    Science Highlight
    15.07.2026
    BESSY II: New sample environment allows glimpse into thermocatalytic processes
    A novel measurement cell allows, for the first time, soft and hard X-ray investigations under high pressures of up to 20 bar and temperatures of up to 400°C. This provides new insights into thermocatalytic processes, such as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for producing synthetic fuels. The development of the measurement cell is considered a significant achievement within the Care-O-Sene project.

  • From Colombia to Berlin: Finding My Way in a New World
    Blog
    15.07.2026
    From Colombia to Berlin: Finding My Way in a New World
    It was almost 11 p.m. when I arrived in Berlin. After a long journey from Colombia, all I wanted was to get to my accommodation, take a shower, and finally sleep.

    Instead, I missed my train. Thinking it would follow the same route as the previous one as it would in my hometown of Medellín I confidently boarded the next train. About twenty minutes later, I realized something was wrong. I was heading in the wrong direction.

    As if that was not enough, my phone battery was almost empty. Suddenly, I found myself alone in a city I had never visited before, late at night, speaking a language I did not understand, with no idea how to get back.

    This was not how I had imagined the beginning of my first international trip....