Theory meets practice – We’re heading back to HTW Berlin!
The HZB’s BIPV consultancy office (BAIP) is once again coordinating and delivering the lecture series “Building-Integrated Photovoltaics”.
How can solar panels be integrated into architecture in an aesthetically pleasing and efficient way? This is precisely what our colleagues Samira Aden, Thorsten Kühn and Niklas Albinius, together with Rutger Schlatmann, will be demonstrating to Master’s students in Renewable Energy at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences during the coming summer semester.
As a BIPV consulting office, our aim is to break down barriers and disseminate knowledge. For the second time, we are shaping the summer semester with our seminar ‘Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)’, enabling us to pass on our practical knowledge to the next generation of aspiring engineers.
Together with the students, we will delve deep into the world of solar building envelopes. In doing so, the students will work on construction project at the HZB and, in parallel with the actual planning, develop their own holistic BIPV concepts in their semester projects – ranging from technical yield simulation and building regulations checks to economic life-cycle analysis.
We are looking forward to a sunny summer semester!
- Imaging Ellipsometry for Process Control of Thin-Film DevicesA German–Israeli research team led by Dr. Andreas Furchner has demonstrated how imaging ellipsometry enables non-destructive characterisation and quality control of microstructured MXene thin films during device fabrication. The authors used two complementary ellipsometry approaches for precise, multi-scale access to key material properties. The work positions imaging ellipsometry as a powerful platform for monitoring thin-film uniformity, device integrity, and functionality throughout processing, including critical lithographic steps. The study was published in Applied Physics Letters and selected as an Editor’s Pick.
- Cool vaccines in rural Kenya: solar solution has been awarded by UNIn May 2026, Tabitha Awuor Amollo is spending some weeks as a guest scientist at HZB, analysing perovskite thin films at BESSY II. The Kenyan physicist from Egerton University, Nairobi, was recently recognised for her achievements in research and teaching. For the development of a solar-powered refrigeration system for use in rural health centres, she has been awarded the 2026 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)-Elsevier Foundation Award. An interview on exceptional projects and daily struggles of a scientist. Questions were asked by Antonia Rötger.
- BESSY II: How intrinsic oxygen shortens the lifespan of solid-state batteriesAlthough solid-state batteries (SSBs) demonstrate high performance and are intrinsically safe, their capacity currently declines rapidly. A team from the TU Wien, Humboldt-University Berlin and HZB has now analysed a TiS₂|Li₃YCl₆ solid-state half-cell in operando at BESSY II using a special sample environment that allows for non-destructive investigation under real operating conditions. Data obtained by combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) revealed a new degradation mechanism that had not previously been identified in solid-state batteries. They have gained some surprising insights, particularly regarding the harmful role played by intrinsic oxygen. This study provides valuable information for improving design and handling of such batteries.