Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH

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:

• basic principles,
• the development of dedicated infrastructures that allow guided design, synthesis and, analysis,
• the transfer to applications providing know‐why and know‐how for the society.

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.

• Project coordination: HZB provides the administrative and scientific coordination of the project ensuring that the objectives and milestones of the project are efficiently and effectively met, on time and within budget. Additionally, HZB will promote efficient communication flows within the consortium guaranteeing that each partner is well informed of the project progress, understands its role and contractual obligations in the project, and is aware of the requests and information from the European Commission.
• HZB will lead the management of the proposals through the single access point platform (GATE) and provide access to VIPERLAB’s research infrastructures. HZB will publish the calls, support the users with their submission of proposals for transnational and virtual access, elaborate the standardized routine of evaluation for user’s proposal, support the evaluation process with the external experts and guide and support the successful implementation of the granted proposal.
• HZB will also enable access to its Perovskite Database and contribute to the development of guidelines for virtual access through the VAPo (Virtual Access Point).
• HZB will actively support the Joint Research Activities in VIPERLAB: Leading the task “Literature data mining for meta-studies on perovskite single- and multi-junction devices” HZB will launch the perovskite database and will correlate device architectures, material properties, and fabrication protocols to device properties and summarise this information in meta studies. Leading the task “Advanced spectroscopic characterization of device degradation” HZB and other partners will develop protocols for testing procedures. Additionally, HZB will contribute to other joint research activities with its expertise in aging protocols and encapsulation methods and supporting the assessment of the environmental and social impact.
• HZB will manage and support the implementation of ethics requirement in the VIPERLAB project.