Samira Aden joins ETIP PV - The European Technology & Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics ESG Working Group
Samira Jama Aden, Architect Design Research, has joined the ETIP PV - The European Technology & Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics working group “Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)”.
ESG emphasizes the critical need for environmental-social and ethical responsibility in photovoltaic technologies. Photovoltaic embedded within global society, demands attention to power dynamics, reliable information, guidelines, and accountability to ensure a sustainable, just, and transparent PV sector, surrounding Lifecycleassesment, environmental responsibility, and social equity.
Samira Aden titles: “Technology is always embedded in a larger context. Renewable energy technologies, such as PV, are intrinsically linked to our global society, presenting multidisciplinary challenges related to climate change and a perpetually transforming society. Especially crucial is the awareness that PV technologies, materials, industries, and governance necessitate a high degree of social and ethical responsibility. This is evident when considering power dynamics and their effects on energy systems in the Global North and Global South. To prevent paradoxes between discourse, action, and responsibility, there is a need for reliable information, guidelines for action, and accountability within the European PV sector. The renewable energy transition is multifaceted and requires a comprehensive dedication to transnational responsibility, social justice, and practice.”
Helmholtz-Berlin looks forward to her contributing her experience as an architect and expert in design research and innovative materials to this important field of photovoltaics at a European level.
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https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/pubbin/news_seite?nid=29466;sprache=en
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Humboldt-Fellow at HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels: Alexander R. Uhl
Alexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing hydrogen using sunlight. His stay is being funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
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MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expected
MXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
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Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of Directors
The Scientific Director at Helmholt-Zentrum Berlin is the new face behind the "Natural Sciences" unit at Berlin Research 50 (BR50). Following the election in December 2025, the constituent meeting of the new BR50 Board of Directors took place on 22 January 2026.
Its members are Michael Hintermüller (Weierstrass Institute, WIAS), Noa K. Ha (German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, DeZIM), Volker Haucke (Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, FMP), Uta Bielfeldt (German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin, DRFZ) and Bernd Rech (HZB).