Today, October 17, 2025, the German Instruct Center Instruct-DE officially begins its work at Goethe University. Instruct-ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure specialized in high-end technologies and methods in structural biology, which is recognized by the European Union. The consortium's goal is to make cutting-edge technologies and methods from 17 partner countries accessible to researchers across Europe. Following a multi-year exploratory process, Germany was accepted as a partner country in Instruct-ERIC in 2024. In addition to providing German researchers with access to technologies in European partner countries, it also opens access to excellent German infrastructures for researchers from all over Europe.
The new German center is organized in a decentral manner and coordinated by Goethe University Frankfurt. Partner institutions include Helmholtz Munich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, DESY Hamburg, Hamburg-based European XFEL, University of Hamburg's Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), and Forschungszentrum Jülich. Instruct-DE also has four other institutions joining as national associated partners: Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig, University of Bayreuth, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) Berlin, and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
With the establishment of Instruct-DE, Germany's advanced technologies become part of the freely accessible European Instruct Technology Catalog, which researchers from all partner countries can use at no cost, as explained by its spokesperson, Prof. Dr. Clemens Glaubitz. "The previously highly successful mutual use of research infrastructures is taking a decisive leap forward with Germany's participation through Instruct-DE," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Harald Schwalbe, Director of Instruct-ERIC, adding that, "Structural biology in Germany is conducted at the highest level. Instruct-DE not only strengthens European research but also opens up new opportunities for German researchers to engage in European collaborations."
