Rhein-Main Universitäten

Millions of euros of funding for six Hessian Clusters of Excellence  

Wiesbaden/Bonn “A total of six Clusters of Excellence proposals, and thus five more than in the last round in 2019, were successful in the highly ambitious national Clusters of Excellence competition”, Hessian Science Minister Timon Gremmels stated delightedly. “This means that Hesse is back at the top when it comes to research.”

The German Research Foundation (DFG) announced today in Bonn that the following projects involving Goethe University Frankfurt, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Marburg University and Technical University of Darmstadt will receive the coveted funding from the German federal and state governments under the Excellence Strategy: 

• “Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI)”, Universities Giessen and Frankfurt in the field of cardiopulmonary research
• “Microbes-for-Climate (M4C)”, University Marburg in the field of microbiology
• “Post-Lithium Energy Storage (POLiS)”, Universities Giessen, Ulm and Karlsruhe in the field of battery research
• “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)”, University Darmstadt in the field of artificial intelligence
• “SCALE – SubCellular Architecture of LifE”, University Frankfurt in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in the field of cell biology
• “The Adaptive Mind (TAM)”, Universities Giessen, Marburg and Darmstadt in the field of cognitive research

Strong top-level research in Hesse

Timon Gremmels, Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Arts and Cluster, congratulated: “I am delighted that a total of six Hessian research projects were successful in the ambitions competition regarding the prestigious title of excellence. The high number of projects being is impressive proof of the strength of top-level research in Hesse. The projects competed with the very best and prevailed over first-class competitors. I would like to thank the researchers – as well as the governing boards of the universities and the Max Planck Institutes – for their enormous commitment and want to extend my warmest congratulations on this spectacular success. This is also a historic success for all of Hesse. With six Clusters of Excellence in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen and Marburg, Hesse is now back in a prominent position on the Excellence Strategy map. The Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Arts and Culture (HMWK) has supported the universities and research institutions with substantial financial resources and provided intensive support over the entire proposal process. All of this is paying off now. We were able to increase the number of Hessian Clusters of Excellence sixfold compared to the last round of competition. Hesse is a big winner of today’s decision in the Excellence Strategy.”

From 2026, the selected projects will receive between 6 and 7.5 million euros over a funding period of seven years. In the two-stage selection process, which has now been completed, a total of 200 projects had submitted their proposals, and 70 have now been selected for funding by the German federal and state governments. With the Excellence Strategy, the German federal and state governments want to increase Germany’s international visibility and competitiveness as a research location in the long term. The Excellence Clusters serve to promote internationally outstanding research fields in universities, also in cooperation with other universities or research institutions.

Intensive preparations

The state of Hesse has provided intensive support to its universities in the preparations for the highly competitive excellence competition. For example, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Arts and Culture (HMWK) has initiated a comprehensive strategic process to sharpen the profile in particular with regard to top-level research. On top of that, the Hessian research funding program LOEWE was further developed with a view to the Excellence Strategy. For example, all new cluster initiatives that were invited to submit a full proposal had the option of awarding LOEWE top professorships to renowned researchers in order to keep them at the cluster. Furthermore, there were numerous funding opportunities that were tailored to the individual needs of the respective initiatives. In the summer of 2024 alone, the new proposals in Hesse together received another 1.4 euros on the home stretch to further optimize the initiatives on the basis of the first results from the review process. 

In the current phase of the competition, a total of 143 new Clusters of Excellence entered a draft proposal phase. 41 of them were invited to submit full proposals and, together with the 57 existing Clusters of Excellence, were included in the final selection. Between November 2024 and February 2025, these 98 proposals, including seven Hessian projects of the Universities Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen and Marburg, were thoroughly reviewd and measured by the highest quality benchmarks by 418 scientific reviewers from 31 counties at the DFG in Bonn. The Excellence Commission, consisting of 39 international scientific experts and the science ministers of the German federal and state governments, was responsible for the final selection of the Clusters of Excellence. The German federal and state governments provide 539 million euros per year for the Clusters of Excellence, with the main share of 75% being borne by the federal government.

New opportunities for the universities

Following today’s decision, the Universities Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen and Marburg are now eligible to submit proposals for funding as a “University of Excellence” in the second funding line of the Excellence Strategy. Universities of Excellence receive an additional 15 million euros, university consortia of excellence receive up to an additional 28 million euros per year. 

Science Minister Timon Gremmels emphasizes: “The competition for the sought-after  “University of Excellence” title is about national reputation and high amounts of funding. No Hessian university has ever qualified for the Universities of Excellence competition. Now, with the Universities Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen and Marburg, four universities qualified at once. This is a tremendous success. We will continue to provide intensive support to the universities on their way to submitting the proposal.”

In Hesse, the following six Clusters of Excellence will receive from 1 January 2026:

“Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI)”; Universities Giessen and Frankfurt; cardio-pulmonary research

Cardio and pulmonary diseases are among the most common causes of death worldwide. The Excellence Cluster “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.

„Microbes-for-Climate (M4C)“, University Marburg; microbiology

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 using synthetic biology.

“Post-Lithium Energy Storage (POLiS)”, Universities Giessen, Ulm and Karlsruhe; battery research

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. 

“Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)“,University Darmstadt; artificial intelligence

The RAI Cluster of Excellence, under the leadership of the Technical University of Darmstadt, is dedicated to the development of a new generation of AI systems based on the reasonable use of resources, data protection standards and continuous improvement. Multidisciplinary teams are working together in four research areas to shape the future of AI. Although deep learning has enabled important advances in the field of artificial intelligence over the last ten years, current AI systems have displayed some significant weaknesses, such as an inability to reason, difficulty handling new situations and a need for continuous adjustments. Last but not least, current AI systems also require substantial resources. The aim of the Cluster of Excellence project “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI) is thus to develop the next generation of reasonable AI.

“SCALE – SubCellular Architecture of LifE“, University Frankfurt; cell biology

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.

“The Adaptive Mind (TAM)“, Universities Giessen, Marburg and Darmstadt; cognitive research

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.