On June 17, 2024, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications (HIPOLE Jena), which was founded by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) in cooperation with the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, was officially opened. It is dedicated to the development of sustainable polymer materials for energy technologies. These materials are intended to play a key role in the energy transition and support Germany’s goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045.
The institute, which is annually funded with 5.5 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Thuringia, focuses on the development of polymer-based batteries, polymer additives for perovskite solar cells, and sustainable materials for energy applications. These technologies promise efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for energy storage and conversion.
“HIPOLE Jena will play a central role in research and development at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Through interdisciplinary cooperation in the fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science, HIPOLE Jena will set new standards in cutting-edge research on polymers for energy applications such as batteries and solar cells,” says Prof. Dr. Georg Pohnert, the interim director of the University of Jena.
Thanks to the advance payment by the Free State of Thuringia, which began construction early on, HIPOLE Jena was able to move into a modern laboratory building on the Landgrafen Campus of the University of Jena shortly after its foundation. The laboratory rooms were equipped in the first half of 2024 and the actual research began in spring 2024. “We are here extremely quickly,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert, Founding Director of HIPOLE Jena.
HIPOLE Jena is embedded in a lively academic and entrepreneurial environment on the Landgrafen Campus. It also works closely with the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry Jena (CEEC Jena) – which promotes interdisciplinary cooperation and rapid knowledge transfer. By combining polymer chemistry, materials science, and artificial intelligence, researchers at HIPOLE Jena want to develop new technologies for energy storage, hydrogen production, and photovoltaics.
“With HIPOLE Jena, we are able to give strong impetus to the development of new materials for energy technologies at the highest international level,” says Schubert. Prof. Bernd Rech, Scientific Director of the HZB, adds that “the expertise in the field of polymer chemistry and its applications at the University of Jena perfectly complements the HZB’s experience in photovoltaics, battery research, and the latest methods for investigating chemical processes.”
Background: Polymers
Polymers are large molecules that consist of many repeating chemical subunits. They can be used in a variety of different forms – from rigid, solid materials to soft, flexible gels. The advantages of polymers lie in their versatility and their adaptability through the choice of molecular building blocks during production. They can be specially designed to be lightweight, flexible, and extremely durable. In addition, they are often inexpensive to produce and can exhibit properties such as conductivity or heat resistance. This makes them ideal for applications in areas such as power generation, energy storage, or electronics.
