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Green hydrogen: Why do certain catalysts improve in operation?
Now a HZB-team headed by Marcel Risch has observed at BESSY II how two simultaneous mechanisms are responsible for this. The catalytic activity of the individual catalysis centres decreases, but the morphology of the catalyst layer also changes.
Best electrolyser/photovoltaics combinations demonstrated in test fields
One of the most promising ways to increase the availability of solar energy is to convert excess production into hydrogen. The PECSYS project has investigated the best possible material and technology combinations to facilitate such an operation.
Energy for Antarctica: solar hydrogen as an alternative to crude oil?
Solar hydrogen could be produced from sunlight in summer as an alternative. Hydrogen has a high energy density, is easy to store, and can be used as fuel when needed later without polluting the environment. Matthias May (HZB) and Kira Rehfeld (Heidelberg ...
Posterprize for HZB postdoc Prince Saurabh Bassi
Dr. Prince Saurabh Bassi was awarded the poster prize at “International Bunsen-Discussion-Meeting on Fundamentals and Applications of (Photo) Electrolysis for Efficient Energy Storage”. He is a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Sebastian Fiechter in the ...
Copper oxide photocathodes: laser experiment reveals location of efficiency loss
Solar cells and photocathodes made of copper oxide might in theory attain high efficiencies for solar energy conversion. In practice, however, large losses occur. Now a team at the HZB has been able to use a sophisticated femtosecond laser experiment to ...
Catalyst research for solar fuels: Amorphous molybdenum sulphide works best
Efficient and inexpensive catalysts will be required for production of hydrogen from sunlight. Molybdenum sulphides are considered good candidates. A team at HZB has now explained what processes take place in molybdenum sulphides during catalysis and why ...
Marcel Risch to form research group at the HZB with an ERC Starting Grant
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be further strengthened in its research on solar fuels. Dr. Marcel Risch, who recently obtained an ERC Starting Grants, is moving from Georg August Universität, Göttingen to the HZB. Starting in March 2019, the ...
New world record for direct solar water-splitting efficiency
Hydrogen will play a central role as a storage medium in sustainable energy systems. An international team of researchers has now succeeded in raising the efficiency of producing hydrogen from direct solar water-splitting to a record 19 per cent. They did so ...
Kostenloser Download: HZB-Forschung in Spektrum Kompakt
Noch bis zum 9. Juli steht das Spektrum Kompakt "Energiewende", herausgegeben vom Spektrum-Verlag, zum kostenlosen Download zur Verfügung. Darin enthalten ist eine 13-seitige Sonderveröffentlichung des HZB, aufgeteilt in drei Beiträge. Nach Ablauf des ...
Solar–to-hydrogen conversion: nanostructuring increases efficiency of...
Polymeric carbon nitrides exhibit a catalytic effect in sunlight that can be used for the production of hydrogen from solar energy. However, the efficiency of these metal-free catalysts is extremely low. A team at the Tianjin University in China, in ...
Guest researcher at HZB: Bessel Prize Winner Benjamin Rotenberg
Prof. Benjamin Rotenberg has received a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for 2018 and will be spending time regularly as a guest researcher at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Rotenberg is a researcher of the ...
HZB launches Helmholtz International Research School in collaboration with...
On 1st February 2018, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has established the Helmholtz International Research School HI-SCORE, which will be oriented towards solar energy research. To accomplish this, HZB is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute in ...
Miniaturised spectrometer wins first prize at international conference
A Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) team together with experts at Ulm University and the University of Stuttgart have designed an electron spin resonance spectrometer that fits a box 10 cm on a side. The team presented the device to a technology jury at the ...
1130 Besucher bei der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am Standort Wannsee
Das HZB begrüßte zur "Klügsten Nacht des Jahres" am 24. Juni 2017 mehr als tausend Gäste, darunter viele Kinder und Jugendliche. Quirliges Treiben auf unserer Wissenschaftsstraße, großer Andrang bei den Mitmach-Experimenten und beim Schülerlabor, ...
New lab for electrochemical interfaces at BESSY II
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is establishing a joint lab together with the Max Planck Society (MPS) to study electrochemical phenomenon at solid/liquid interfaces. The Berlin Joint Lab for Electrochemical Interfaces, or BElChem for short, will employ ...
Intersolar Europe in Munich: HZB research meets solar industry
At the major international photovoltaics exhibition from 31 May to 2 June 2017, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be exhibiting solar energy research projects and presenting opportunities for industrial cooperation in the field of photovoltaics (PV).
Nanodiamonds as energy materials: tuning the functionalities
An international team has shed light onto interactions between nanodiamonds and water molecules. Experiments at synchrotron sources showed how hydrogenated groups on nanodiamond surfaces change the network of hydrogen bonds in the aqueous environment and may ...
Registration open for Quantsol Summer School
Newcomers and young scientists in solar energy research can register now for the 10. International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol). The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the ...
Foundation stone laying ceremony for an energy research laboratory on Wannsee...
A milestone has been reached in the expansion of energy materials research at the Lise-Meitner Campus: on 23 March 2017, the celebration was held for laying the foundation stone of a laboratory building that will offer a multitude of methods for synthesising ...
Finding and understanding low cost catalysts: it all comes down to the iron
A team has investigated more than one hundred iron-nickel catalysts containing various admixtures of chromium. At BESSY II, they also analysed the configurations of the electrons in the individual elements. The team showed that an increasing proportion of ...
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is establishing a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group...
Dr. Matthew T. Mayer from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, will be putting together a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group in the field of energy materials research at HZB. He will be researching into how carbon dioxide and ...
Research for Germany’s energy transition: EMIL@BESSY II approved for the...
The storage of excess solar and wind power is one of the greatest challenges in Germany’s energy transition. To address this, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has created the "Power-to-X” (P2X) project under its ...
EMIL, a 2000-square-metre laboratory complex, has opened for research into new...
After three years of construction, the Energy Materials In-Situ Laboratory (EMIL) is now open. The new laboratory complex for researching energy materials, annexed to BESSY II in Berlin-Adlershof, was ceremonially inaugurated with the involvement of the ...
Two Freigeist Fellows interweave their research at HZB
Two Freigeist Fellows are conducting research at the HZB Institute for Methods of Material Development through support received from the Volkswagen Foundation. Theoretical chemist Dr. Annika Bande is modelling fast electron processes, while Dr. Tristan Petit ...
Monash University awards three HZB-scientist with adjunct professorships
Cooperation between Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, is thriving. Now, Monash University has awarded three HZB-scientists with adjunct professorships: Prof. Klaus Lips, Dr. Alexander Schnegg and Prof. Emad Aziz have ...
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin at European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference
On 23rd June, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the ZSW jointly organised the IW-CIGSTech 7 as a side event of the EU-PVSEC Conference in Munich. About 150 international attendees, mainly from Europe, Asia and North America came together to get an extensive ...
Helmholtz Innovation Labs: HySPRINT at HZB
HZB will be setting up the new Helmholtz HySPRINT Innovation Lab for jointly developing new combinations of materials and processes in energy applications with commercial partners. Silicon and metal-organic perovskite crystals will be the centre point of the ...
Intersolar Europe / EU PVSEC / 7th IW-CIGSTech Workshop 2016 – Munich, 20-24...
We cordially invite you to visit the HZB booth during Intersolar Europe - The world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners from 22 to 24 June 2016 in Munich, Germany. Also the online registration is open for the EU-PVSEC and we ...
Registration open: Quantsol Summer School on solar energy conversion
Registration for Quantsol is now open! It is already the ninth time that the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held in September 2016 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The ...
Riddle of missing efficiency in zinc oxide-based dye-sensitised solar cells...
To convert solar energy into electricity or solar fuels, you need specialised systems of materials such as those consisting of organic and inorganic thin films. Processes at the junction of these films play a decisive role in converting the solar energy. Now ...
Young scientist award for Oliver Supplie
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kristallzüchtung und Kristallwachstum (DGKK) presented Oliver Supplie with the DGKK Young Scientist Award on 16 March 2016. Supplie works at the TU Ilmenau and at the HZB, and accepted the prize worth 2,500 euros during the "1st ...
Solar fuels:a refined protective layer for the “artificial leaf”
A team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has developed a process for providing sensitive semiconductors for solar water splitting ("artificial leaves”) with an organic, transparent protective layer. The extremely thin protective layer made of carbon ...
Matthias May mit dem Doktorandenpreis der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft ausgezeichnet
Dr. Matthias May erforschte in seiner Promotion am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), wie man mit Sonnenlicht noch effizienter Wasser spalten und in Form von Wasserstoff speichern kann. Für seine Arbeit erhielt er am 27. Januar 2016 den mit 5.000 Euro dotierten ...
An alternative to platinum: iron-nitrogen compounds as catalysts in graphene
Teams at HZB and TU Darmstadt have produced a cost-effective catalyst material for fuel cells using a new preparation process which they analysed in detail. It consists of iron-nitrogen complexes embedded in tiny islands of graphene only a few nanometres in ...
MacQueen is researching into optical energy converters for generating fuels:...
Dr. Rowan W. MacQueen will come in spring 2016 to the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and will receive funding for his research project through the Helmholtz Postdoc Programme. He will be studying the optoelectronic properties at the boundaries of thin organic ...
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin expands its solar fuel research: Kathrin Aziz-Lange...
Dr. Kathrin Maria Aziz-Lange has won approval to set up a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group (YIG) addressing the topic of solar fuels at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). She will receive 250,000 Euros in annual support for a period of five years, with half ...
Distinguished Lectures at HZB: Prof. T. Krauss will talk about Photovoltaics...
Solar power has the highest potential among all renewable energy sources, it is clean and practically inexhaustible. Despite the already very high performance of silicon solar cells with 25% efficiency and low costs, a lot of research is yet required in order ...
New class of materials for organic electronics:
Joint project details charge transport in polymeric carbon nitride for first time Polymeric carbon nitride is an organic material with interesting optoelectronic properties. As an inexpensive photocatalyst, it can be used to facilitate water splitting using ...
Uppsala Berlin Joint Laboratory “Our willingness to cooperate is our strength”
Great political interest for the new Uppsala Berlin Joint Laboratory (UBjL): On the 4th of November, Sweden’s ambassador in Germany, Dr. Lars Danielsson, came personally to the HZB where the UBjL is established for the inauguration of the joint project.
Quantsol Sommerschule 2015 – erfolgreich im 8. Jahr
Die International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) fand vom 6. bis 13. September 2015 zum achten Mal in Folge im österreichischen Hirschegg/Kleinwalsertal statt. Über 50 angehende Solarforscherinnen ...
Hydrogen from sunlight: new efficiency record for artificial photosynthesis
An international team has now succeeded in considerably increasing the efficiency for direct solar water splitting. They are using a tandem solar cell whose surfaces have been selectively modified. The new record value is 14 % and thus considerably above the ...
Freigeist Fellowship for Tristan Petit
For his project on nanodiamond materials and nanocarbon, Dr. Tristan Petit has been awarded a Freigeist Fellowship from the VolkswagenStiftung. The grant covers a five-year period and will enable him to establish his own research team. The VolkswagenStiftung ...
Artificial photosynthesis: New, stable photocathode with great potential
A team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has developed a new composite photocathode for generating hydrogen with high quantum efficiency using sunlight. This enables solar energy to be stored chemically.The photocathode consists of a thin film of ...
Success rate 100 percent: HZB teams get third party funding for Solar Fuel...
Converting solar energy and storing it in form of solar fuels, is one of the great scientific and technological challenges today to enable the transition into a more sustainable future powered by renewable energies. Scientists at the HZB institute for Solar ...
Universität Bielefeld und HZB kooperieren zu Nanoschichten und komplexen...
Im Februar 2015 haben Uni-Rektor Professor Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer, Uni-Kanzler Dr. Stephan Becker und die Geschäftsführer des HZB, Professorin Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla und Thomas Frederking eine Vereinbarung über die Zusammenarbeit unterschrieben. ...
Jahrestagung des ForschungsVerbund Erneuerbare Energien
Unter dem Motto "Forschung für die Energiewende – Phasenübergänge aktiv gestalten" fand am 7. und 8. November die Jahrestagung des ForschungsVerbund Erneuerbare Energien (FVEE) im Umweltforum Berlin statt. Vertreter aus Wissenschaft und Politik ...
SAVE THE DATE: Adlershofer Science Forum on 11.11.2014 with Poster Session
Please save the date to participate on 11. November 2014 at "Adlershof Science Forum" (AFF) of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and IGAFA. The event is meant to encourage exchange and communication between scientists working at Adlershof.
German Society for Materials Science awards publication with HZB scientist as co-author
At its annual conference on September 22, 2014, the German Society for Materials Science (DGM), presented the Werner Köster Award for best publication. The work, whose authors include HZB scientist Dr. Michael Tovar and which has been published in the ...
Matthias May receives the Poster Prize at the Wilhelm und Else-Heraeus Seminar
Matthias May, PhD student at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels, was awarded a Poster Prize at the 562nd WE Heraeus Seminar "From Sunlight to Fuels” for his scientific work. From 11 to 16 May 2014, the participants of the WE Heraeus seminar concentrated ...
Das ganze Spektrum der Elektrokatalyse an einem Tag
Am 4. April 2014 lud das Helmholtz-Institut Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN) zu seiner ersten wissenschaftlichen Veranstaltung ein. Beim internationalen Symposium "Recent Achievements and Future Trends in Electrocatalysis" präsentierten zehn führende ...
The International Summer School Quantsol will inform on basics in photovoltaics...
Registration now open! For the seventh time already young solar energy researchers are invited to attend the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol). The school will be held from September ...
The best of two worlds: Solar hydrogen production breakthrough
Using a simple solar cell and a photo anode made of a metal oxide, HZB and TU Delft scientists have successfully stored nearly five percent of solar energy chemically in the form of hydrogen. This is a major feat as the design of the solar cell is much ...
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin stärkt Aktivitäten zur Forschung an solaren Brennstoffen in Zusammenarbeit mit der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Gestern hat der Senat der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft seine Zustimmung gegeben für die Ansiedlung eines neuen Helmholtz-Instituts zur Erforschung Erneuerbarer Energien in Erlangen und Nürnberg, kurz HI ERN. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie ...
International summer school Quantsol conveys basics of photovoltaics and solar...
For the sixth year in a row, future solar researchers are invited to attend the HZB’s International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion – Quantsol. The summer school program is scheduled for September ...