DFG announces new funding decisions in the Excellence Strategy
22 May 2025
On 22 May, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the German Science and Humanities Council (in German: Wissenschaftsrat, WR) announced which research alliances will be funded by the federal and state governments under the Excellence Strategy. Forschungszentrum Jülich is involved in six of the Clusters of Excellence.
Clusters of Excellence - top-level research
Clusters of Excellence are among the most important funding instruments for internationally competitive top-level esearch at universities in Germany. They are designed to strengthen internationally visible research locations, expand profile areas at universities, and deepen cooperation with non-university partners. The Forschungszentrum Jülich is involved in several of these long-term alliances as a reliable partner to universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, offering excellent infrastructure, application-oriented expertise, and scientific know-how.
These are the Clusters of Excellence involving Jülich that have been selected for funding:
- Integrated Fuel & Chemical Science Center (FSC²) - Adaptive Conversion Systems for Sustainable Energy Carriers & Chemicals
Applicant: RWTH Aachen University
The FSC² Cluster of Excellence is an existing project that will be continued. It explores innovative ways of converting renewable energy into liquid energy carriers - known as bio-hybrid fuels - and chemicals. The scientists pursue a holistic approach: from the individual molecule to the entire supply chain. The cluster combines expertise from the fields of chemistry, engineering, and the social sciences.
- PhenoRob2 - Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production
University of Bonn
PhenoRob2 aims to make agriculture more sustainable through technology and new cultivation systems. The scientists deploy new technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and sensor-based phenotyping, in order to produce plant foods while conserving resources. Interdisciplinary teams are researching new approaches to reduce the pollutants released into the environment, to utilize automation potential in the fields, and to identify pioneering solutions for agricultural systems in Germany.
- New: Color meets Flavor - Search for new phenomena in strong and weak interactions
Universities of Bonn, Dortmund, and Siegen
The new cluster focuses on the interplay between two fundamental forces in particle physics, namely the strong ("colour") and weak ("flavour") interaction of quarks, the smallest building blocks of matter. The aim is to use state-of-the-art experiments and theoretical models to learn how these fundamental building blocks of matter form complex bonding states. The Higgs boson will also be explored and the hunt for the axion continued. The cluster strives to further decipher the structure of matter in the subatomic range and to complete our understanding of nature.
- ML4Q - Matter and Light for Quantum Computing
Universities of Cologne, Bonn, and Aachen
The Matter and Light for Quantum Computing Cluster of Excellence aims to create new computer and network architectures based on the principles of quantum mechanics. The scientists will optimize quantum materials and develop algorithms for fault-tolerant quantum computing as well as strategies for error correction.
- New: DynaVerse - Our Dynamic Universe
Universities of Cologne and Bonn
How matter and energy develop in the cosmos depends on processes that take place in fractions of a second - or billions of years. The new cluster aims to deliver a detailed description of these dynamic processes in the universe for the very time - focusing on galaxy evolution, supernova explosions, and cosmic twists. In its work, it combines observations with novel instrumentation, theory with state-of-the-art simulations and data science methods, and findings from laboratory astrophysics.
- CEPLAS III - Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences
University Düsseldorf
SMART plants for tomorrow's needs. Since 2012, the CEPLAS cluster has been investigating how plants and their natural microorganisms adapt to changing environmental conditions, such as too little water or scarce nutrients. The aim is to create the basis for sustainable agriculture and stable ecosystems in times of climate change. In the third funding phase, investigations will decipher how plant traits are controlled by environmental influences.
Awarding the Clusters of Excellence
As part of the Excellence Strategy, the German federal and state governments will provide a total of €539 million annually for the funding of Clusters of Excellence starting in 2026. The funding lines will be announced at regular intervals. In the current competition round, 98 full applications were received. An international Committee of Experts evaluated the applications on behalf of the German Research Foundation and the German Science and Humanities Council. On May 22, 2025, it was announced that 70 Clusters of Excellence had been selected for funding. They will start their work on 1 January 2026.
