Forschungszentrum Jülich

Chronic Sleep Disorder or Busy Whiling Away Time?

Around 20 to 35 % of the population suffers from chronic sleep disorders. Moreover, almost every teenager or adult has experienced short-term sleep deprivation at some point. Jülich researchers have now been able to show that the brain regions involved in the two conditions differ significantly.

Knowledge. Creation.

Grasping the present. Shaping the future. We research to revolutionize information processing, to transform the energy sector, and to develop a biobased circular economy. Across disciplines, creatively, and successfully.

7,423

employees

26

ERC Grants

2,511

publications

News

New Head of PtJ

Daniela Wirtz takes over as Head of PtJ

On 1 May 2025, Daniela Wirtz succeeded Dr. Stephanie Bauer as the new head of Project Management Jülich (PtJ). Wirtz has been head of the PtJ business area “Research and Society NRW” since December 2021. The latter encompasses the two Jülich divisions “Energy, Technology, Sustainability” and “Technological and Regional Innovations” with a total of around 230 employees.

EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen Visits Forschungszentrum Jülich

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, visited Forschungszentrum Jülich. The focus of her visit was the newly established JUPITER AI Factory, part of the network of AI factories in the European Union.

Honors

Christoph Brabec new member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences

Professor Christoph Brabec, a leading figure in materials science and a pioneer in next-generation photovoltaics and solution-processed electronics, has been elected a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The honour recognises his outstanding contributions to sustainable energy technologies and advanced materials research.

Our 3 strategic research priorities

Information

The priority of information combines Jülich research in three areas: simulation and data science in high-performance-computing (HPC), brain research, and research on bio- and nanoelectronic information technologies of the future. Quantum technologies are another priority at Jülich.

Energy

Jülich energy research concentrates on an energy system based on renewable energy. Scientists research technologies on all scales – from the atomic level right up to industrial innovations – covering the entire value chain from basic to applied research.

Bioeconomy

The sustainable bioeconomy is a biobased circular economy that does away with fossil resources and utilizes renewable resources instead. Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich are developing new value creation processes.

Helmholtz Research Fields

As a founding member of the Helmholtz Association, we are part of the largest German research organization and contribute our top-class expertise to four of the six Helmholtz Research Fields: Energy, Matter, Information, and Earth & Environment.

At Jülich, we conduct research in the fields of digital transformation, climate protection, the energy transition, and the sustainable circular economy. Our research strengthens the technological and digital sovereignty of our country. It is important to me to use the potential that arises from scientific findings and innovations for practical application.
Prof. Dr. Astrid Lambrecht, Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich

Topics

JUPITER

JUPITER, the first European exascale supercomputer, is set to be launched at Forschungszentrum Jülich. JUPITER is the first system in Europe with a computing power of more than one quintillion floating-point operations per second

AI

AI is already revolutionizing many areas of life. With our infrastructure and expertise, we are working towards fully and safely exploiting the potential of this technology in the future.

Quantum technologies

Quantum computers are changing computing in a fascinating way. At Jülich, we are testing systems and prototypes that users from all over Europe can utilize for their development work.

JUNIQ

The ‘Jülich UNified Infrastructure for Quantum computing’, or JUNIQ for short, is the world's first quantum computing infrastructure to offer users from science and industry access to a variety of quantum systems at different stages of development.

Sustainability

Our findings make an important contribution to achieving global sustainability goals. Our research is also sustainable and we use resources responsibly.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is set to become a mainstay of the energy transition. But sustainable and marketable technologies are needed first. We are testing possible solutions.

Neuromorphic computing

Computers modeled on the human brain, so-called neuromorphic systems, are much more economical than conventional computers.

Atmosphere and Climate

Often invisible to the human eye, they influence the global climate: chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere. We are tracking down these processes.

effzett - Forschungszentrum Jülich's magazine

Why does science lose so many talented women along the path to leadership positions? This is a question that junior professor Irene Vercellino has sought to get to the bottom of alongside her structural biology research. More on this topic on the effzett website.