Effective Plan Implemented: University Halle Secures Exceptional Boost - University of Halle Secures Additional Aid
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has been chosen to receive special funding as part of the German government's Excellence Strategy. The university, along with partners from the Free University of Berlin, the University of Regensburg, and the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics, was selected to establish an Excellence Cluster named the "Center for Chiral Electronics" (CCE).
The CCE is one of 70 projects nationwide to receive funding, totalling up to €64.5 million, for an initial seven-year period, starting in January 2026. The project will focus on top-tier research into new concepts for energy-efficient and powerful electronics.
"The funds will be invested in cutting-edge research projects in materials science," explained Claudia Becker, rector of MLU. "Our increasing emphasis on this research area over the past few years has clearly paid off through the excellence funding."
Saxony-Anhalt's Science Minister, Armin Willingmann (SPD), stated, "The success of MLU in this round of the Excellence Strategy represents a significant achievement, not just for Halle, but for the entire state. We can expect to see influential research developments and increased international recognition for science in Eastern Germany."
Unfortunately, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, which submitted a different application focusing on sustainable chemical and biotechnological production processes based on a green circular economy for carbon, was unsuccessful in securing funding this time.
The new CCE hub at MLU will bring together leading research institutions, each with complementary expertise. MLU and the Max Planck Institute in Halle specialize in chiral materials, Freie Universität Berlin in ultrafast spin dynamics, and the University of Regensburg in coherent strong-field control.
The CCE will target the development of new chiral materials and concepts for electronics, drawing inspiration from chirality—a property that allows objects to exist in non-superimposable mirror image pairs. Although common in nature, chirality remains largely unutilized in electronic devices.
The CCE aims to establish the foundational principles for the next generation of energy-efficient and ultra-fast electronic devices. This includes exploring chiral materials for use in spintronics and data storage, potentially revolutionizing electronics beyond traditional semiconductor technologies that rely primarily on electron charge.
In addition to advancing research, the CCE is also dedicated to nurturing the future scientific workforce, with a focus on inspiring and supporting young people in pursuing careers in science and technology.
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) is not only focusing on top-tier research in materials science, such as chiral electronics, but is also prioritizing vocational training and the nurturing of future scientific workforce, with a focus on health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and science.
- The "Center for Chiral Electronics" (CCE) at MLU, which will establish the foundational principles for the next generation of energy-efficient and ultra-fast electronic devices, bases its research on chirality—a property in nature that allows objects to exist in non-superimposable mirror image pairs—and aims to expand its application beyond traditional semiconductor technologies, underscoring the importance of science, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and vocational training.
