TH Wildau and Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin signed comprehensive cooperation
Signing of the cooperation agreement between the TH Wildau, represented by the President Prof. Dr Ulrike Tippe, and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, represented by the Scientific Managing Director Prof. Dr Bernd Rech (centre) and the Commercial Managing Director Thomas Frederking. © Picture: Sebastian Stoye / TH Wildau
On 21 May 2025, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement. The aim is to further promote networking and cooperation, particularly in basic research, to increase the scientific excellence of both partners and to develop competence networks in research, teaching and the training of young scientists.
The strategic partnership between the TH Wildau and the HZB aims to utilise synergies and sustainably strengthen the scientific performance of both institutions. The cooperation is broad-based and encompasses several core areas in order to make a significant contribution to science and research in the region and beyond.
A central element of the collaboration is the mutual use of equipment, facilities and workstations within the scope of legal and actual possibilities. This enables scientists from both institutions to access an extended research infrastructure. The partners are also endeavouring to establish close personnel links. This includes the opportunity for qualified HZB employees to take on teaching positions at the TH Wildau. Students at the TH Wildau benefit from the opportunity to carry out and be supervised for their degree, bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses at both the HZB and the TH Wildau.
Common vocation
A particular focus of the cooperation is the joint implementation of appointment procedures for professors. An initial realisation of this agreement is the planned joint appointment of a professorship in the department of Engineering and Natural Sciences at TH Wildau for the subject area of "Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Systems". This professorship, which will be based on the so-called Jülich model (leave of absence model), is linked to the management of a working group at the "Competence Centre Photovoltaics Berlin" institute at HZB.
Further objectives of the collaboration include the development and realisation of joint research and development projects, joint activities in knowledge and technology transfer as well as joint publications and public relations activities. The partners will also co-operate in the acquisition of third-party funding and, if necessary, agree on details of joint applications.
"The cooperation with the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is an important step for the TH Wildau and opens up excellent opportunities for us to further strengthen and expand our research activities and teaching, especially in forward-looking areas such as renewable energies," said Prof. Ulrike Tippe, President of the TH Wildau, at the signing of the cooperation agreement on 21 May 2025 in the Senate Hall of the TH Wildau.
- MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expectedMXene 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.
- Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of DirectorsThe 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).
- A record year for our living lab for building-integrated PVIn 2025, our solar facade in Berlin-Adlershof generated more electricity than in any of the previous four years of operation.