Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN)

The HI ERN investigates and develops material- and process-based solutions for a climate-neutral, sustainable, and cost-effective utilization of renewable energies. The institute works on the structural and functional characterization, modeling, and processing of materials relevant to hydrogen and solar technology. The common goal is the understanding of structure-performance-process relationship on the mesoscale.

The HI ERN is set up as part of Forschungszentrum Jülich and is operated in close cooperation with Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The institute’s main facilities will be on FAU’s Southern Campus in Erlangen. One of HI ERN’s working groups is located in the „Auf AEG“ business park in Nuremberg.

The institute comprises six professorships with annual funding of approximately € 5.5 million from the Helmholtz Association. The Free State of Bavaria provided onetime additional € 5 million to finance joint research projects in its initial development phase as well as € 32 million for a new research building. The institute’s new building is expected to be completed by 2020, with a floor space of 3.200 m², accommodating around 100 scientists from HI ERN.