Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB)

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) was founded in 2009 by the merger of the former Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin GmbH (HMI) and the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung GmbH (BESSY), and is a member of the Helmholtz Association.

HZB concentrates on energy materials research, methods and instruments for conducting research with soft X-ray radiation, as well as accelerator research and development. A strategic goal of HZB is to maximise the impact of its photon-based capabilities and expertise on the achievement of the goals of energy materials research. Here, the focus is on thin-film functional materials for energy conversion, energy storage and future energy-efficient information technologies.

Accelerator research at HZB focusses on the development of efficient accelerator technologies and designs as well as superconducting cavities. HZB is operating two large-scale facilities – the research reactor BER II (to be shut down by the end of 2019) and the photon source BESSY II – for the international scientific user community. BESSY II is a 3rd generation synchrotron radiation source focusing on the VUV / soft X-ray regime. Both large-scale facilities serve an international user community with in total more than 3,500 user visits per year.

By integrating its energy materials research with the operation of dedicated infrastructures, HZB aims at exploiting synergies and creating a unique research environment. The upgrade of BESSY II to a variable pulse length storage ring (BESSY VSR) will provide researchers with new opportunities to study dynamic processes in energy materials, thus laying the ground for targeted development of new functional materials.