Susanne Nies appointed to EU advisory group on Green Deal
Dr. Susanne Nies heads the project Green Deal Ukraina. The energy expert is now called to consult the European Commission on behalf of the regulatory burdens in relation with the Net Zero Industrial Act. © privat
Dr. Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which aims to support the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. The energy expert has now also been appointed to the European Commission's scientific advisory group to comment on regulatory burdens in connection with the net-zero target (DG GROW).
With its Industrial Plan for the Green Deal, the European Union aims to promote the development of a competitive cleantech industry that secures prosperity and jobs. The Net Zero Industry Act provides a framework for this. The Act is intended to stimulate investment and create better conditions for the cleantech market in Europe. A group of experts will accompany this process and report on how the legal requirements affect economic activities in order to enable timely adjustments.
Energy expert Dr. Susanne Nies has now been appointed to this important advisory body. The seven experts come from different disciplines and have been appointed for an initial term of four years.
Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which supports the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. A political scientist by training, she brings with her many years of experience from her work as a manager and consultant for the energy market, particularly in Eastern Europe. ‘I am delighted to be able to contribute to optimising the legal framework in a knowledge-based manner during this exciting time,’ says Susanne Nies. The appointment is recognition of Susanne Nies' long-standing commitment to evidence-based policy and cooperation between industry and science.
- Nanosilver as an electrocatalyst for CO₂ reductionVia electrolysis, CO2 can be reduced to CO, a raw material for further chemical products such as fuels. Within the GreenQuest Project, an internation team led by HZB chemist Prashanth Menezes has now systematically investigated catalyst layers made of silver nanoparticles, varying both the size of the particles and their density. The best yield was achieved with nanoparticles with diameters of around 10 nm, which were loosely distributed. Furthermore, they demonstrated how the economic efficiency of the electrochemical cell can be enhanced by integrating an additional chemical reaction at the anode, enabling the simultaneous production of a valuable formic acid, hydrogen, and CO in one device.
- Spin waves inside a nano-oscillator imaged for the first timeFor the first time, researchers have directly imaged the magnetisation dynamics inside a spin Hall nano-oscillator — a nanoscale device that converts direct current into tunable microwave signals and is a promising building block for energy-efficient wireless communication and brain-inspired computing. A Swedish–German team led by the University of Gothenburg and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) achieved this using time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy at the MAXYMUS instrument at BESSY II. The results, now published in Advanced Materials, reveal spin-wave features that had escaped previous, indirect measurement techniques.
- Joint power instead of duplicate structures:Berlin’s research community is further advancing its research excellence by establishing a high-performance, cross-institutional infrastructure for data and AI. With a joint agreement signed on 18 September 2026, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) are paving the way for a joint data science and AI centre in Berlin-Dahlem and Adlershof.