Being „The Research University in the Helmholtz Association“, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences.

Water- and dirt-repellent sportswear and outdoor clothing, or anti-fog windshields - there are many everyday products that can profit from highly hydrophobic coatings. For such coatings, researchers led by Dr. Bastian E. Rapp at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have created Fluoropor, a material that is both transparent and abrasion-resistant and that consists of a fluorinated polymer foam with continuous nano/micro-structure. Fluoropor is...

Organic solar cells are flexible, transparent, and light-weight - and can be manufactured in arbitrary shapes or colours. Thus, they are suitable for a variety of applications that cannot be realised with conventional silicon solar cells. In the Energy Technology journal, researchers from KIT now present sunglasses with coloured, semitransparent solar cells applied onto lenses that supply a microprocessor and two displays with...

Whether for use in safe data encryption, ultrafast calculation of huge data volumes or so-called quantum simulation of highly complex systems: Optical quantum computers are a source of hope for tomorrow's computer technology. For the first time, scientists now have succeeded in placing a complete quantum optical structure on a chip, as outlined Nature Photonics. This fulfills one condition for the use of photonic circuits in optical quantum compu...

Scientists from imec have announced that they have fabricated a thin-film solar module stack made up of perovskite and CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) with a conversion efficiency of 17.8%. For the first time, this tandem module surpasses the highest efficiencies of separate perovskite and CIGS modules.

All over the world, lakes, rivers, and coastal waters are threatened by high nutrient inputs. Nitrate or phosphates from waste-waters or fertilisers causes eutrophication. The consequence: Algae, in particular cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), grow uncontrollably and may release toxic substances.

Computers are important tools in everyday life, whether as PC or smartphone. In the future, they will increasingly be incorporated in everyday objects and support users wearing the smart watches, display goggles, sensor clothing, among other things. This trend of digitisation will be discussed by scientists, product vendors, fashion designers, and users at the ISWC/UBICOMP conference that will be co-organized by KIT from September 12th to 16th, 2...

The EU SOFT Innovation Prize for fusion research in the amount of €50,000 is awarded to a team of researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC). Scientists of the Institute for Technical Physics of KIT have developed a novel superconducting conductor concept.

A new partnership has been agreed between Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and INERATEC which will see the former invest in a spinoff that could revolutionise chemical process engineering and contribute to the success of the energiewende in the area of chemical energy storage systems.

The KA-RaceIng students’ team of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) won the Formula Student Germany last weekend with its KIT 16e electric racing car. The competition at the Hockenheimring comprised eight categories - 39 teams of students from all over the world took part.

Researchers of KIT, together with colleagues of Bonn University, have found that the oil-binding capacity of the water plant results from the hairy microstructure of its leaves. It is now used as a model to further develop the new Nanofur material for the environmentally friendly cleanup of oil spills. Damaged pipelines, oil tanker disasters, and accidents on oil drilling and production platforms may result in pollutions of water with crude ...

Atomic force microscopes make the nanostructure of surfaces visible. Their probes scan the investigation material with finest measurement needles. KIT has now succeeded in adapting these needles to the application. For any measurement task, e.g. for various biological samples, a suitable measurement needle can be produced. 

The upconversion of photons allows for a more efficient use of light: Two photons are converted into a single photon having higher energy. Researchers at KIT now showed for the first time that the inner interfaces between Surface-Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks (SURMOFs) are suited perfectly for this purpose – they turned green light blue. 

Data traffic is growing worldwide. Glass-fibre cables transmit vast amounts of information over long distances at the speed of light. Once they have reached their destination, however, these optical signals have to be converted into electrical signals for subsequent processing. KIT researchers have now developed a novel type of photodetector that needs far less space than conventional ones.

A recently launched project aimed at developing and testing a portable, electronic assistance system that will greatly extend the range of motion for the visually impaired, will receive €1.7m funding from The Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

A hazy sky and dirty cars are well-known consequences of Saharan dust carried to Europe by air currents. As part of the 'PerduS' project, the German Weather Service (DWD), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and meteocontrol are currently examining how dust – as haze in the atmosphere and deposited on solar panels – affects the output of photovoltaic systems.

  Cadherins are part of the protein family of adhesion molecules. Just like mortar between the bricks in a wall, they ensure that cells stay together, preventing them from breaking away and migrating from a group of cells. 

A team of researchers led by Dr. Friederike J. Gruhl and Professor Andrew C. B. Cato at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are developing a three-dimensional model for prostate cancer research based on cryogels. The model will be used to reproduce natural processes and above all to examine the development and the progression of tumors.

Scientists of KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) reproduced the epidermal cells of rose petals that have particularly good antireflection properties and integrated the transparent replicas into an organic solar cell. This resulted in a relative efficiency gain of twelve percent. An article on this subject has been published recently in the Advanced Optical Materials journal.

Home storage systems for electricity produced by photovoltaics facilities are gaining attractiveness, as their costs are declining. However, standardised, verifiable criteria for the end client to assess their performance are still lacking. Now, scientists have launched the largest German study so far to analyse commercial systems with respect to safety, quality, and grid suitability and to derive recommendations for manufacturers, standardisatio...