How to produce and store green energy efficiently?
Max Planck researchers bring sustainable materials research to Düsseldorf’s Night of Science
At a glance
- Event: Düsseldorf Night of Science, 11 September 2026
- Audience: More than 15,000 visitors of all ages
- MPI-SusMat focus: Green energy: hydrogen production, efficient batteries and atomic scale materials characterization
- Science Slam: Dr Tugce Beyazay won the Science Slam with a humorous dating show featuring metal oxides and hydrogen.
- Talk: Dr Navyanth Kusampudi demonstrated how AI methods used to analyse steels can also be applied to bird songs and baby cries.
- Key message: Green energy production and storage is one part of the research done at MPI-SusMat on sustainable materials.
How can renewable energy be turned into green hydrogen? How can this energy be stored efficiently in batteries? And what can we learn by looking at these materials down to the atomic scale?
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat) explored these questions with the audience at the Düsseldorf Night of Science on 11 September. With more than 15,000 visitors of all ages, the event offered an opportunity to make current research accessible to a broad audience.
From renewable energy to more efficient batteries
At the MPI-SusMat booth, visitors could discover how materials science can help to fulfill the energy transition. The team presented research on using renewable electricity from sources such as solar and wind to produce green hydrogen - an energy carrier that can help decarbonise industry. They also introduced approaches to storing renewable energy in more efficient and durable batteries that do not depend on critical or rare earth elements.
A key part of this research is understanding how materials work at the smallest scales. By analysing the microstructure and atomic structure of catalysts and battery materials, the Max Plank team can identify how their structure influences their properties and performance.
Science meets entertainment
The MPI-SusMat team also took part in the event’s programme beyond the exhibition booth.
Dr Tugce Beyazay won the Science Slam, competing against scientists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. In her entertaining performance, different metal oxides took part in a fictional dating show, illustrating their potential partnership with hydrogen.
Dr Navyanth Kusampudi showed visitors another surprising application of materials-science methods. He explained how he uses the same type of artificial intelligence methodology that he applied to analyse steels during his PhD to study bird songs and baby cries.
Looking forward to 2028
The Düsseldorf Night of Science brought science, research and the public together across the city. For MPI-SusMat, it was an opportunity to show how materials research can contribute to sustainable energy technologies and how scientific methods can sometimes be applied in unexpected ways.
The next Night of Science in Düsseldorf will take place in autumn 2028. The MPI-SusMat team is already looking forward to taking part again.