ITEP

The Institute of Technical Physics (ITEP) is one of the first scientific institutions in Germany and Europe to have its occupational safety management system successfully certified. The official presentation of the certificate by the VBG and UKBW marks the successful completion of a systematic process to ensure the highest safety standards in research and operations. 

Further Information

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Priv. Doz. Dr.-Ing. habil. Xufei Fang has been awarded the 2026 Masing Memorial Prize from DGM (German Society for Materials Science), for his independent and pioneering scientific research work on “dislocations in ceramics”. The prize can be awarded only once a year, and is considered the highest achievement for young DGM members with the doctoral disputations less than10 years at the time of nomination. The prize is named after the long-time DGM chairman and honorary chairman Georg Masing.

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In contrast to conventional nuclear energy, nuclear fusion does not split atoms, but fuses them together. Researchers can thus generate large amounts of electricity comparatively cleanly and with low risks. "Nuclear Fusion is just emerging from research and is getting close to application," explains Professor Christoph Kirchlechner from the Institute for Applied Materials at KIT, who heads the FUSION program there [...] It is important to build resilient systems that are not based on a single technology.

Link to the complete Interview DAS WISSEN by SWR

CIEMAT

The 12th edition of the European Review Meeting on Severe Accident Research Conference (ERMSAR) was organized in Madrid on May 18-22, 2026 by the Spanish public research organization CIEMAT in the framework of the SEAKNOT EU project and SNETP/NUGENIA Technical Area 2, in cooperation with OECD/NEA and IAEA. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) provided a significant support to the organization of the event as both sponsor and partner of the SEAKNOT EU project. Several researchers from the KIT Program Nuclear Waste Management, Safety and Radiation Research (NUSAFE) are members of the Technical Committee of ERMSAR.

ERMSAR is a unique conference worldwide, focussing on severe accident research for water-cooled large and small modular reactors. The ERMSAR 2026 edition brought together more than 220 specialists from 27 countries with more than 150 scientific contributions from research centres, universities, technology organizations, and energy companies across the globe from Europe, United States and Canada to Japan, China, and South Korea.

Alexander Diercks, KIT

Solar energy is a cornerstone of the energy transition. Tandem solar cells made of perovskite and silicon can achieve higher efficiencies than conventional silicon cells, but their industrial manufacturing remains a challenge. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Valencia have now jointly further developed a fast, solvent-free vacuum process that uniformly deposits perovskite layers at high throughput, even on textured silicon surfaces. Results published in Nature Energy.

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02068-9

Magali Hauser, KIT

Research for more security and resilience of democracy. Against the background of a globally changing security situation, KIT aims to strengthen Germany's and Europe's security and sovereignty through research and innovation. A position paper now published by the Executive Board formulates KIT's willingness to make scientific contributions to strengthening internal and external security and thus to the resilience of democracy. It also underlines the need for a critically reflective and ethically sound approach. "The changing geopolitical situation has a significant impact on our security," says Professor Jan S. Hesthaven, President of KIT. "We stand for fundamental values such as democracy and freedom, including academic freedom. At the same time, we have our obligations to society. That is why we are determined to strengthen security through our work and contribute to the common good as a public research institution."