Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy, HZB) is part of the

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (german: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren) is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. ...

. The institute studies the structure and dynamics of materials and investigates

solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

technology. It also runs the third-generation

BESSY Bessy may refer to: People * Claude Bessy (dancer) (born 1932), French ballerina with the Paris Opera Ballet and director of its school (1972-2004) * Claude Bessy (writer) (1945–1999), French writer, magazine editor, singer, video producer and pa ...

synchrotron A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator, descended from the cyclotron, in which the accelerating particle beam travels around a fixed closed-loop path. The magnetic field which bends the particle beam into its closed p ...

Adlershof Adlershof (, literally "Eagle's Court") is a locality (') in the borough (') Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. Adlershof is home to the new City of Science, Technology and Media ( WISTA), located on the southwestern edge of the locality. ...

. Until the end of 2019 it ran the 10 megawatt BER II

nuclear research reactor Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or mariti ...

at the Lise Meitner campus in

Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger ''Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee, "See" means lake) and the ...

History

Following the renaming of Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin GmbH to Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH on 5 June 2008, the legal merger of Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung (BESSY) with HZB became visible on 1 January 2009. The Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin für Kernforschung (HMI), named after

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and father of nuclear fission. Hahn and Lise Meitner ...

and

Lise Meitner Elise Meitner ( , ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish physicist who was one of those responsible for the discovery of the element protactinium and nuclear fission. While working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute on rad ...

, was named 14 March 1959 in Berlin-Wannsee to operate the BER I research reactor that began operation with 50 kW on 24 July 1958, then named Institut für Kernforschung (IKB). The IKB was founded by the senate of Berlin (West) in winter 1956/57 as a dependent authority. Research originally focused on radiochemistry. In 1971, the federal government took over 90% of the shares in the HMI by converting it into a GmbH (limited liability company). The Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung GmbH (

) was founded in 1979. The first synchrotron BESSY I in Berlin-Wilmersdorf began operations in 1982. In May 2022, South African President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

and German Chancellor

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...

, who was in South Africa on the final leg of a trip to Africa, publicly announced that HZB and

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

had agreed to conduct research into substances to help produce sustainable aviation fuel on a commercial scale.Promit Mukherjee (24 May 2022)
South Africa's Sasol, Germany's HZB to study sustainable jet fuel
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

External links

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Official English language website
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Official German language website {{Authority control Nuclear technology Nuclear research institutes Neutron facilities Research institutes in Germany Synchrotron radiation facilities