Forschungszentrum Jülich is part of the Helmholtz Association, the largest research organization in Germany and one of the largest scientific research organizations in the world. Forschungszentrum Jülich contributes its expertise to four Helmholtz research fields: energy, matter, information, and earth and environment.

Using cutting-edge research to solve issues that will determine the future of mankind is what the members of the Helmholtz Association do. What will a climate-neutral energy supply be like that is both economically and socially viable? What records will be possible with new data processing systems and ever more powerful supercomputers? Which technologies can be used for the transition to a sustainable economy? Forschungszentrum Jülich, as a member of the Helmholtz Association, is delivering pioneering insights.

One of the main tasks of the research centres in the Helmholtz Association is the construction and operation of unique, complex research facilities. Forschungszentrum Jülich provides scientists from all over the world with access to highly specialized infrastructures, for example in the field of supercomputing. At the same time, Jülich benefits from long-term funding for its research projects from the Helmholtz Association.

What is the Helmholtz Association?

The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers is the largest research organization in Germany and one of the largest research networks in the world. Around 44,700 employees conduct research at 18 Helmholtz centres. Cutting-edge research is concentrated in six strategic areas: energy, Earth and environment, health, information, aeronautics, space and transport, and matter. The Helmholtz Association is financed by Germany’s federal and state governments. The centres themselves also raise third-party funding. The Helmholtz Association is named after the universal scholar Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894). Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich/Limbach

How does the Helmholtz Association fund research?

Forschungszentrum Jülich receives funding through the Helmholtz Association’s program-oriented funding (PoF). The organization of basic funding in programmes enables scientists from different Helmholtz centres to work on an interdisciplinary basis. The programmes are designed in line with the research policy objectives defined by the Helmholtz Association together with the funding bodies. The programmes are evaluated by an international team of experts. This evaluation is decisive for the amount of funding apportioned.

Research Fields

Helmholtz Energy

Scientists in the Helmholtz research field of energy seek solutions for a secure, climate-neutral energy supply. For example, they research storage technologies for electricity from renewable energy sources.

Helmholtz Matter

The basic building blocks and forces of the universe, as well as its cosmological development, are the subject of research in the field of matter: basic research that seeks to answer the question of what holds our world together at its core.

Helmholtz Information

The development of materials and technologies for a new generation of computers – quantum and neuromorphic computing – and the design of AI models are examples of work in the field of information.

Helmholtz Earth and Environment

The state of the atmosphere, our planet’s protective layer, is the subject of research in the research field Earth and environment. However, scientists are also developing technologies and solutions for a bio-based circular economy.

Four Helmholtz research fields with Jülich participation

Forschungszentrum Jülich contributes its cutting-edge research to four Helmholtz priorities: energy, matter, information, and Earth and environment. Specific research programmes have been developed for these key research fields, in which scientists combine their expertise across centres and disciplines.