Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) operates two large research infrastructures, the neutron source BER II and the photon source BESSY II. These facilities serve an international user community from many scientific disciplines, hosting more than 3000 external users per year. HZB staff performs accelerator research, develops science-driven designs of new instruments and develops novel methods using synchrotron radiation in the VUV and soft-X-ray regime primarily for materials and energy research. Materials and energy research at HZB focuses on photovoltaics and solar fuel generation, as well as on fundamental aspects of energy storage and energy efficiency.