Samira Aden joins ETIP PV - The European Technology & Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics ESG Working Group
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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.
- Berlin Science Award goes to Philipp AdelhelmBattery researcher Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm has been awarded the 2024 Berlin Science Award. He is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU) and heads a joint research group at HU and the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The materials scientist and electrochemist is investigating sustainable batteries, which play a key role in the success of the energy transition. He is one of the leading international experts in the field of sodium-ion batteries.
- 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.