Up to €77 million for pioneering materials research at TU Hamburg and partner institutions

A significant milestone for materials research: the new BlueMat Excellence Cluster: Water-Driven Materials now approved. Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and its partner institutions have applied for funding totalling €77 million for the next seven years. The cluster centres on a revolutionary research approach: to functionalise materials through the targeted use of water.

Water as the key to future materials

Water is not only omnipresent, but also an extraordinary tool for changing material properties. Materials can reversibly change their properties through the targeted use of water and can then, for example, store and generate energy, adjust light transmission and colour, modulate electromagnetic properties or experience changes in their mechanical flexibility. All of this is achieved using sustainable materials, paving the way for innovative and green applications.

Hamburg – city of science on the waterfront

The cluster is ideally suited to Hamburg – the international and cosmopolitan city perched on the water – and it harnesses the combined expertise of the science metropolis. TU Hamburg is in charge of the cluster. The other partners are:

• University of Hamburg
• German Electron Synchrotron (DESY)
• Helmut-Schmidt University of Hamburg
• Hamburg University of Fine Arts (HBFK)
• Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)
  Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon
• Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter
• European X-Ray Free Electron Laser GmbH (EuXFEL)

Associates also include:

• Fraunhofer Institute for Additive Production Technologies (IAPT)
• Hamburg Media School
• Center for Molecular Water Science CMWS
• UN University
• Joachim Herz Foundation

The close cooperation between these pre-eminent institutions creates ideal conditions for ground-breaking scientific discoveries and their transfer into practical application.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Timm-Giel, President of TU Hamburg:

“I owe a particular debt of gratitude to all the scientists at TUHH and our partners whose outstanding achievements have made this application a success – especially the cluster spokespersons Prof Patrick Huber, Prof Irina Smirnova and Prof Christian Cyron. I would also like to thank all those who have supported this application, including those from the non-scientific side. We are proud of what we have achieved and look forward to the ongoing development of TUHH. BlueMat will be a formative example for the future of TUHH – rigorously ensuring transfer from basic research to a better and sustainable future.”

Professor Dr Patrick Huber, spokesperson for the BlueMat Excellence Cluster and Professor of Materials and X-ray Physics:

“Everyone involved contributed to the successful development and elaboration of a revolutionary and scientifically convincing approach. Water played a major role in the First Industrial Revolution as far back as the 18th century, when it was used in machines such as steam locomotives. Now we are working on the next industrial revolution, so to speak, in which water will be used in materials.”

Professor Dr.-Ing. Irina Smirnova, Vice President for Research at TUHH and co-spokesperson of the BlueMat Excellence Cluster:

“Close collaboration between engineering and scientific disciplines is among the hallmarks of BlueMat. Not only does this interdisciplinary cooperation enable the development of new materials, but also the creation of scalable manufacturing processes – hence laying a reliable foundation for downstream implementation in practice.”

Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank:

“This is how you create excellence! From basic research to the application of technology in the interests of people – that is TU Hamburg's recipe for success. Approval of the BlueMat Excellence Cluster: Water-Driven Materials is a major achievement and builds on a unique success story at this university. We entered the second growth phase at TU Hamburg and opened a United Nations University Hub just last year. And this immense achievement in the Excellence Competition confirms that our profile and development in recent years have been right. The fact that the federal and state governments are jointly providing such clear financial and non-material support in times of serious global crises, heightening threats to democracy and attacks on academic freedom is also an important indicator that strong, independent and sustainable science will continue – in the interests of a more liveable future. The decision is a real boost to funding: for TU Hamburg, its partners and our science location as a whole – just fantastic! Allow me to congratulate you wholeheartedly on this unique achievement!”

Senator for Science Maryam Blumenthal:

“The BlueMat Excellence Cluster: Water-Driven Materials at TU Hamburg opens a new chapter in the success story of this university. Moving forward, interdisciplinary and internationally connected research will be carried out here on a topic that is at the heart of the ‘Engineering to face climate change’ strategy: delivering innovative engineering solutions that help to solve global challenges of climate change. After all, the future will be built on sustainable materials that are modelled on nature. This is also a major step forward for Hamburg as a hub of science and innovation. Allow me to congratulate everyone involved on this unique achievement!”

Vision for a sustainable future

Research into water-driven materials addresses highly complex scientific issues – but offers specific application potential for a sustainable future at the same time. The cluster's motto hits the nail on the head: “If you can do it with water, do it with water.”

Learn more about BlueMat Water-Driven Materials

BlueMat website: Water-Driven Materials.
https://www.tuhh.de/bluemat/homepage