Joint power instead of duplicate structures:
Signing the agreement, from left to right (back): Prof. Dr. Fatma Deniz (TU), StS Dr. Henry Marx (Land Berlin), Niels Helle-Meyer (HU), front: Dr. Martin Mann (BUA), Dr. Kathrin Rost (ZIB), Dr. Saskia Vormfelde, Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech (both HZB). © Stefan Klenke, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Berlin’s research community is further advancing its research excellence by establishing a high-performance, cross-institutional infrastructure for data and AI. With a joint agreement signed on 18 September 2026, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) are paving the way for a joint data science and AI centre in Berlin-Dahlem and Adlershof.
Berlin possesses outstanding scientific expertise at world class level in mathematics, artificial intelligence and data-intensive research. To secure and further expand this position in the future, high-performance computing and storage capacities are required. The participating institutions have therefore decided to plan and utilise existing resources more closely in a collaborative manner, and to jointly develop new capacities. To this end, the State of Berlin is providing the Berlin University Alliance with additional funding for the expansion of shared research infrastructures.
The partners are pooling existing and planned investments running into millions and making more efficient use of existing resources. They are avoiding duplicate structures and building new infrastructure in several development phases in line with scientific needs. At the same time, the collaboration strengthens the technological and data-based autonomy of Berlin’s research community and creates foundations for the secure, responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.
Statement by Dr Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science:
“The fact that the Berlin University Alliance, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Zuse Institute Berlin are now jointly conceptualising, planning and utilising their computing and data infrastructures is a historic step and a major success for Berlin’s scientific community. Through this collaboration, the partners are implementing precisely the strategic priorities that we, as a state, have set out in our research policy: strengthening artificial intelligence, expanding data spaces, and sharing infrastructure and resources in order to harness real strength and unlock new potential. Berlin, more than almost any other region, is characterised by an extraordinary concentration of excellent scientific institutions within a very small area – and this is precisely where our great opportunity lies. If you want cutting-edge research, you must provide cutting-edge infrastructure, and if you want to hold your own in international competition, you must pool resources rather than duplicate structures. Berlin is now consistently pursuing this path, thereby propelling itself further to the forefront of data-driven research. I am convinced that what is emerging here in Berlin will serve as a model for how a research hub can actively and collectively shape its future.”
Statement by Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance:
“The rapid development of artificial intelligence will fundamentally transform our city, our society and also the world of science. As a network of excellence, we will play a key role in ensuring that Berlin’s research and innovation landscape fully realises its outstanding potential in this area. A high-performance infrastructure is essential for this. With this innovative collaboration, we are taking an important step towards an integrated, state-of-the-art infrastructure, thereby making a significant contribution to our city’s innovative capacity and economic strength.”
Statement by Prof. Bernd Rech, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin:
“Berlin’s scientific institutions are moving even closer together. Together, we will establish and operate a forward-looking, efficient infrastructure in the fields of AI and scientific data management. This will benefit not only Berlin’s scientific community, but also industry and society as a whole.”
Statement by Prof. Dr Christof Schütte, President of the Zuse Institute Berlin:
“Artificial intelligence represents one of the great opportunities for science in our time – and we are seizing it. We are pooling our resources, further expanding our strengths and expertise, and, as a consortium, creating an infrastructure for data-intensive cutting-edge research. This strategic alliance is an important first step towards the future. Further steps must follow.”
Back in May 2025, the partners had already agreed in a joint memorandum of understanding to coordinate their investments in modern data and AI infrastructure. The agreement, signed on 18 September 2026, now sets out the joint governance, the coordination of infrastructure planning, and the provision and use of computing and storage capacities.
This is a joint press release from the Senate Department for Science, Health and Care, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the Zuse Institute Berlin and the Berlin University Alliance.
- New technique could make MRI more preciseA team of researchers at the University of Stuttgart and HZB has developed a new method that could make MRI even more precise by eliminating “dead time,” a key limiting factor in the measurement process, thereby enabling the detection of signals that are lost using conventional methods. This method opens up new possibilities for medical diagnostics and non-destructive materials testing. The research team presents the new approach in Science Advances.
- New method shows how molecular switches are influenced by their neighborsResearchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) have, for the first time, been able to directly observe how the environment surrounding a molecular switch influences its electronic structure. Molecular switches are molecules that can be switched between two states by external influences such as changes in temperature—similar to a switch with the positions »On« and »Off«. Such molecules are being investigated as potential building blocks for future data storage devices or sensor materials. Using magnetic-field-dependent terahertz spectroscopy, the researchers have now, for the first time, been able to distinguish whether neighbouring molecules in a material are in the same or different states. The results have been published in the journal »Angewandte Chemie International Edition«.
- 3D magnetic field experiment at BESSY II takes spintronics a step further(Fe0.63Ni0.3Pd0.07)3P or FNPP is a magnetic material that exhibits complex magnetic structures even at room temperature. This makes the material of interest for spintronics, a field that could enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. One potential application is novel magnetic memory devices. However, generating and modifying the desired structures in a controlled manner remains a challenge to date. A new study led by HZB has now taken a step forward in this regard. They demonstrated at the worldwide unique VEKMAG-Station at BESSY II, that a tiny external B-field in the plane of the magnetic patterns is sufficient to change them.