• Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm, Brain City Berlin

    © Stefan Klenke / HU Berlin

    29.07.2025

    Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm honored with Berlin Science Award

Battery researcher Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm, a chemist and materials scientist at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Professor at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin), has been awarded the 2024 Science Award of the Governing Mayor of Berlin. The Young Scientist Award went to Junior Professor Dr. Inka Mai from Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) for her visionary approaches to 3D concrete printing.

Developing cost-effective and safe energy storage systems such as for electric vehicles or home storage units is one of the current challenges in chemistry. Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm, chemist and materials scientist at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and professor at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, conducts research as an electrochemist and head of the joint research group “Operando Battery Analysis” of HU Berlin and HZB. His work focuses on the development of sustainable batteries, which play a key role in the success of the energy transition. Internationally, he is considered one of the leading experts in the field of sodium-ion batteries. Since 2025, he has also served as co-spokesperson of the Berlin Battery Lab, a joint initiative of HU Berlin, HZB, and the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM) aimed at advancing sodium-ion battery technology.

“With his achievements, Philipp Adelhelm has made groundbreaking and internationally pioneering contributions to solving urgent future challenges in energy supply,” the jury stated. At the award ceremony, Adelhelm expressed his gratitude not only to his team but also to his collaborators, particularly in Berlin’s scientific community, “which, with its unique density of research institutions, is an ideal place for innovative materials research.”

The 2024 Young Scientist Award went to Professor Dr. Inka Mai. She is a junior professor for robotic fabrication in the built environment at TU Berlin. The civil engineer impressed the jury with her visionary work, in which she combines engineering with cutting-edge robotics. Her approaches to developing and testing new manufacturing methods for 3D concrete printing were deemed urgent and of the highest importance for the future of construction in Berlin.

Both Philipp Adelhelm and Inka Mai are prime examples of how future-oriented ideas can be realized in Berlin through collaboration between top scientific institutions, industry, and society, emphasized Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin: “With their particularly innovative, sustainable, and climate-friendly solutions in the fields of construction and energy supply, they promote Berlin as a hub of excellence in research on a global scale.” Dr. Ina Czyborra , Berlin Senator for  Higher Education and Research, Health, and Long-Term Care added: “Their research represents what defines Berlin as a science location: bold thinking, smart and creative solutions, and a strong commitment to making science applicable to the challenges of our time.”

The Berlin Science Award is endowed with €40,000 and has been awarded annually since 2008. The prize money goes to the institution where the outstanding achievement was made. In addition to scientific excellence, the potential for practical application of the research is a key criterion for the award.

The Young Scientist Award, endowed with €10,000, is awarded to researchers no older than 35. It honors innovative research approaches in a Berlin-based future-oriented field of particular importance to the city’s scientific and economic landscape. (vdo)

Prof. Dr. Inka Mai from TU Berlin received the Young Scientist Award 2024. © Kevin Fuchs

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