Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) is a legally independent member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, financed by the Federal Government (90%) and the State of Berlin (10%), and has an annual budget of approx. 150 million € with ca. 1,100 employees. HZB also operates BESSY II, which is a third-generation synchrotron radiation source that produces extremely bright X-ray light, and offers access and user support to ca. 3,000 user visits per year.
The mission of HZB focuses on materials research for a sustainable, economic and secure energy supply in the future. The approach includes the understanding of:
HZB’s energy materials research focuses on materials for energy conversion (solar cells) and storage (solar fuels, electrochemical storage), as well as quantum materials (spintronics) that could be of relevance in novel, energy-efficient information technologies. Catalysis materials are also being developed at HZB, for example for artificial photosynthesis and processes for CO2 conversion. Research on energy materials is closely connected with the operation and development of the BESSY II photon source and dedicated unique infrastructures like EMIL, HySPRINT, or the Berlin Joint EPR Lab. The research and development approach focus on thin-film technologies. HZB’s Competence Centre Photovoltaics Berlin (PVcomB) together with HySprint core lab develop photovoltaic technologies and products jointly with industry. It has made significant contributions to the field of photovoltaic module technologies and related production processes and has now extended its contribution to neighboring fields such as Building Integrated Photovoltaics.
[1] - Took place on Feb, 08th 2022
Modelling, high performance computing and efficient access to data sets based on data reported in the literature and experimental work are important tools to accelerate research in the field of photovoltaic perovskite, and beyond. With this workshop VIPERLAB presents the importance of these topics for materials science technology and how the 4 virtual infrastructures of Viperlab project can support researchers from academy'and industry, with free access to their computing, modeling tools and the available datasets.