Marcel Risch has been appointed Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin
Prof. Dr. Marcel Risch was appointed to a professorship in the Department of Physics at Freie Universität Berlin. At HZB he is head of the department 'Mechanisms of Sustainable Electrocatalysis'. Risch investigates the fundamental mechanisms of electrocatalytic reactions and develops knowledge- and data-driven strategies to improve electrocatalysts for the sustainable production of hydrogen, fuels and chemicals. © M. Setzpfandt/HZB
Marcel Risch was appointed to a W2-S professorship in the Department of Physics at Freie Universität Berlin in August 2026. His research group has been transformed into the department 'Mechanisms of Sustainable Electrocatalysis'. Risch investigates the fundamental mechanisms of electrocatalytic reactions and, on this basis, develops knowledge- and data-driven strategies to improve electrocatalysts for the sustainable production of hydrogen, fuels and chemicals.
Marcel Risch joined HZB in 2019 from Georg-August University of Göttingen. With an ERC Starting Grant, he established his research group focusing on electrocatalysts for water splitting. The honours that Marcel Risch has received to date include the Hans-Jürgen Engell Prize from the International Society of Electrochemistry and the Carl Ramsauer Award from the Berlin Physical Society. He is also a Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe.
In addition, Marcel Risch does engage in science communication, explaining the societal relevance of catalyst research at events such as the Long Night of Science and Berlin Science Week, as well as in programmes for the young generation at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Berlin.
On his website, he writes: ‘Our interest is the elucidation of mechanisms of catalysis and corrosion of sustainable electrocatalysis for production of green hydrogen and chemicals with industrial relevance. Our projects include at least two of our core competencies: green electrocatalysis, synchrotron spectroscopy and digital electrocatalysis. We operate small research electrolysers and photoelectrochemical cells. Digital electrocatalysis using data-driven and AI-based approaches allow us identifying optimal operating conditions and materials composition. Insight from operando X-ray spectroscopy enables us to understand the origin of the identified optimum conditions and compositions. This is important for the knowledge-guided design of the next generation of stable and active catalysts. We are enthusiastic about communicating our work and shaping scientific agendas on sustainable electrocatalysis.
- Only at BESSY II worldwide: IR nanoscopy at very long THz wavelengthsThe team at the IRIS beamline at BESSY II has created a new experimental option: They achieved infrared nanoscopy with a spatial resolution of around 50 nm at very long THz wavelengths. This was possible thanks to a temporal pattern of light pulses known as the low-alpha operating mode at BESSY II. Worldwide, BESSY II is the only synchrotron light source at which users could perform nanoscopy in a single setup from 25 to 4000 cm-1, a unique opportunity for ultra-broadband characterisation of complex materials at the nanoscale in both the life sciences and materials sciences.
- Ultrafast demagnetisation - Thinner iron, stronger effectThe thinner an iron film, the more easily it can be demagnetised by a laser pulse. Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen, working with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and other partners, have discovered why: the key lies in the magnetic order at the material's interfaces. In the long term, these findings could contribute to the development of new technologies for magnetic data storage. The results have been published in the scientific journal Advanced Science.
- Patterns of polar vortices in lead-free superlattices on siliconA team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO3/SrTiO3)10 superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open up new options for incorporating complex ferroelectric states into silicon-based technologies.