As PH2OTOGEN passes the two-year mark, the project team gathered on 21-22 January 2026 at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) facilities.
This meeting brought together all eight partner organisations to take stock of progress since the project's launch, share results across work packages, and refine the strategy for the remaining phases.
Discussions focused on confirming tandem device performance and optimal operating conditions, refining system design choices to support efficiency and scalability, consolidating analytical data across partners, and exploring new intellectual property opportunities.
The meeting also included a laboratory visit, where partners discovered HZB's atomic layer deposition (ALD) system coupled with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), an equipment used in the project to investigate surface and interface chemistry under ultra-high vacuum conditions. This technology enables detailed understanding of the interfacial chemistry of energy conversion devices, such as the photoelectrodes being developed for green hydrogen and high-value chemical production.
These collective moments are essential for maintaining alignment across the consortium, ensuring that developments in one work package inform and support progress in others. The meeting reinforced the shared vision driving PH2OTOGEN: developing a scalable device that uses sunlight to produce clean hydrogen and valuable co-products through sustainable solar technology.