Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is a world-leading research center for renewable energy and energy efficiency. It is part of the Helmholtz Association, one of Germany’s largest scientific organizations. HZB’s mission is to find solutions to the grand challenges of our time in the field of energy.
HZB was founded in 2009 as a merger of two renowned research institutions: the Berlin Institute for Medical Engineering and Informatics (IMETEC) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. With more than 1,000 employees from over 50 nations, HZB is one of the most international research centers in Germany.
The majority of HZB’s budget comes from competitively awarded third-party funding. In 2020, around three quarters of its €130 million budget came from federal and state ministries, European Union funds, industrial partners and other sources. This underscores how important HZB’s work is for industry, politics and society at large.
HZB has two main locations: one in Wannsee on the outskirts of Berlin – where most of its laboratories are located – and another near Potsdam at Griebnitzsee Lake – home to its offices, a library, an auditorium and guest apartments.
At both sites there are excellent facilities for users from all over the world to conduct their own experiments using HZB equipment or to collaborate with HZB scientists on joint projects