Fingers crossed for the seven Hessian Clusters of Excellence proposals

The Excellence Cluster proposals of the Universities Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen and Marburg have been submitted, a decision will be issued in May.

Wiesbaden: All seven Hessian Clusters of Excellence full proposals of Technical University Darmstadt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Justus-Liebig University Giessen and Marburg University have completed the last task in the Clusters of Excellence competition of the German federal and state governments. The proposal process was completed on 29 January 2025, now it’s time to keep the fingers crossed. The funding decisions will be announced in May. 

Internationally outstanding research projects

In the competition, held by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council (WR), the Hessian Clusters of Excellence proposals were evaluated in Bonn between November 2024 and January 2025. A commission consisting of internationally outstanding experts intensively reviewed each project for half a day. With the Clusters of Excellence, the German federal and state governments support outstanding research areas at universities, also in cooperation with other universities or research institutions. Throughout Germany, up to 70 Clusters of Excellence can receive funding in the amount of three to ten million euros per year. The 7-year funding period starts on 1 January 2026.

Science and research minister Timon Gremmels stated: “The Excellence Strategy is of tremendous importance for the performance and visibility of Hesse as a science location. This is why our ministry has provided strong support – also in financial terms – to help expand and further develop top-level research. The proposals have been submitted and I keep my fingers crossed for the projects. The basis for these research projects was established through structured prioritization of research with a long-term focus. I would like to thank the scientists who have developed and prepared and put a lot of effort into these projects for years, as well as the universities’ executive boards.”

To clearly demonstrate Hesse’s support for the Hessian initiatives also vis-à-vis the reviewers, State Secretary Christoph Degen was personally present in Bonn to accompany all evaluations: “I am deeply impressed by the projects. The researchers’ enthusiasm for their research was palpable at the evaluations. They have developed research concepts that, originating in Hesse, develop international  brilliance and set standards on an international level.” 

On 22 May 2025, the Excellence Commission, consisting of internationally recognized scientists and the German federal and state science ministers will decide which of the 98 proposals across Germany will receive funding as Clusters of Excellence. A success in the Clusters of Excellence funding line offers the chance of additional funding in the amount of 15 million euros per year per university in the “Universities of Excellence” funding line, as this title required a minimum of two clusters, or three clusters if a proposal is filed as a University Consortium of Excellence. Currently, all four Hessian universities that are part of the competition still have the prospect of submitting a proposal in the Universities of Excellence funding line. 

Statements by the universities’ presidents

The president of Technical University of Darmstadt, Tanja Brühl, stated: “our three cluster proposals RAI, TAM – together with the Universities Giessen and Marburg – and CoM2Life – together with the University Mainz – address important topics of the future in an interdisciplinary manner, from artificial intelligence to cognitive and neuro sciences to biomaterials. We are convinced that excellent basic research must also contribute to society and the economy. Jointly, we have done our best and are now looking towards the future with optimism. I would like to thank all those involved for developing the research projects and the state of Hesse for the important financial support during the preparation. If we are successful, we look forward to further steps with the Rhine-Main Universities alliance (RMU).”

“The people in charge of our projects put in a lot of effort and made a great impression during the reviews – and I would like to thank them for that”, stated Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff, President of Goethe University Frankfurt. “Now, we are keeping our fingers crossed, because the competition is tough. We firmly intend to participate in the Universities of Excellence funding line together with our partner universities in Darmstadt and Mainz as the Rhine-Main Universities, if we meet the requirements.”

“I was very impressed by the research and performance strength of the teams of the two existing clusters CPI and POLiS and the new initative TAM, which was clear to see during the reviews”, emphasized Prof. Dr. Katharina Lorenz, President of Justus-Liebig University Giessen (JLU). “Our researchers in the three Clusters of Excellence proposals are looking back on strenuous months in which they gave their all. Now, we can only keep our fingers crossed that they can reap the rewards for their hard work in the end.” 

“Our clusters M4C – together with the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology – and TAM – together with the Universities Giessen and TU Darmstadt – are focusing on major challenges of our time. Different scientific disciplines work together in basic research and transfer their findings into practice”, said Prof. Dr. Thomas Nauss, President of Marburg University. I am very grateful to our scientists and everyone involved at the university and the state government who have worked for years to be successful in this round of proposals and for Marburg University, and I keep my fingers crossed that our efforts will be rewarded with success.”

1.4 million from the State of Hesse 

Over the last years, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Arts and Culture (HMWK), together with the universities – strategically developed selected research areas and prepared them specifically for the Excellence Strategy through various measures.  In 2024 alone, 1.4 million euros were made available for strengthening the areas of excellence. In addition, all projects invited to submit full proposals were given the opportunity to establish a LOEWE top professorship with funding of up to three million euros. 

With the following seven projects, the Hessian universities are well-positioned in the Clusters of Excellence competition: 

“CoM2Life”, University Darmstadt

CoM2Life aims to develop a radically new generation of soft biomaterials based on the principles of living systems that enable long-term, two-way communication with biological systems. This will enable the development of materials for interactive cancer immunotherapy and tissue regeneration, replace animal testing, and create artificial organs. ‘CoM2Life’ is a collaboration between JGU Mainz, TU Darmstadt and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, combining scientific excellence with expertise in communication science to also meet the challenge of misinformation in this highly innovative field of research. 

“CPI“, Universities Giessen, Frankfurt

Diseases of the cardiovascular system often go hand in hand with lung diseases. The Cluster of Excellence “Cardio-Pulmonary Institute”  seeks to understand which molecular biological processes underlie these organs’ functioning as well as their failure in diseases. The Hessian Cluster of Excellence “CPI” already received funding as part of the Excellence Initiative – the predecessor program of the Excellence Strategy - from 2006 to 2018 and was successful again in 2019 with a new thematic approach. “CPI” is a cooperation of the Universities Giessen and Frankfurt and the “Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research” in Bad Nauheim.

“M4C”, University Marburg

The climate crisis is essentially caused by human-induced imbalances in the global carbon cycle. Microorganisms play a pivotal role in the formation and conversion of greenhouse gases. At the same time, they also offer opportunities to convert these greenhouse gases into harmless molecules. With the “Microbes for Climate (M4C)” Cluster of Excellence, Marburg University and Max Plank Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology with their joint Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and Microcosm Earth Center want to establish the knowledge base for a balanced future carbon cycle. The researchers unravel the fundamental mechanisms through which microbes contribute to the carbon cycle, reconstruct how they were formed in geological history and develop more efficient, sustainable ways to convert CO₂.

“POLiS”, University Giessen

Batteries have made the technological revolution of mobile devices possible in the first place. At the same time, they play a central role in the energy and transport revolution. The Cluster of Excellence “POLiS – Post Lithium Energy Storage” researches the basis for batteries of the future that are more powerful, more reliable, more sustainable and more environmentally friendly than current lithium-ion batteries. University Giessen was already participating in the current Cluster of Excellence of the Universities of Ulm and Karlsruhe and is now a co-applicant. 

“RAI”, University Darmstadt

Current artificial intelligence (AI) systems lack logical thinking skills, have difficulties dealing with new situations, require continuous adaptation and need extensive resources. The planned Cluster of Excellence “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” under the leadership of TU Darmstadt in cooperation with the Universities of Frankfurt, Tübingen, Saarland, Bremen and Würzburg aims to develop the next generation of AI, “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)”: AI systems that learn with a “reasonable” amount of resources based on “reasonable” data quality and “reasonable” data protection. They are equipped with common sense and the ability to deal with new situations and contexts, and are based on training paradigms that enable continuous improvement, interaction and adaptation.

“SCALE”, University Frankfurt

Cells consist of billions of molecules that are organized from single molecules to large molecular complexes to organelles. Although the functions of many individual molecules have been well characterized by now, it often remains unclear how the cellular architecture develops and functions, and how the parts interact. In addition to uncovering the cell’s self-organization principles, the scientists at “SCALE” also want to create a simulation of the cell with high spatial and temporal resolution. This, they hope, will lead to a better understanding of how cells really function and how their various “machines” interact.

“TAM”, Universities Giessen, Marburg, Darmstadt

The aim of the project is to understand the fundamental processes of human perception, thought and behaviour that enable adaptation to constantly changing conditions. The collaboration between Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg University and TU Darmstadt brings together researchers from the fields of psychology, cognitive and neuroscience with experts in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics to decipher universal principles of human adaptability. The findings will be fed into computer models that can imitate, predict and explain both the successes and limitations of the human mind. These findings will play a role in basic research, mental health and the development of safe AI and robot technology.