Hamburg celebrates its Excellence Clusters
At the Senate reception in the City Hall, top research such as that of BlueMat was especially honored
04.06.2026
With the success of five Excellence Clusters, Hamburg has set the course anew for excellent science. The Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and the University of Hamburg (UHH), together with their partners, will receive around 266 million euros in excellence funding over the next seven years to further advance their cutting-edge research.
To celebrate this success and to jointly look at the future significance of Hamburg's excellence research as a driver of societal progress, Science Senator Maryam Blumenthal invited to a festive Senate reception in the City Hall. At the reception, the spokespersons of all five clusters presented their research. In addition to Senator Blumenthal, TUHH President Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Timm-Giel and UHH President Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren also spoke.
Science Senator Maryam Blumenthal: “Five Excellence Clusters, five strong teams and five reasons why we in Hamburg can look confidently ahead. When we celebrate Hamburg’s success in the Excellence Strategy together here at City Hall today, we also make visible how much future potential lies in the work of the researchers here on site. We find their results in the foundations of climate policy, in sustainable and so far unknown materials, or in new understandings of our history. I am delighted that we will jointly continue to shape this successful path in the coming years. Hamburg is proud of its five Excellence Clusters!”
BlueMat as a special milestone
Prof. Dr. Andreas Timm-Giel, President of the Hamburg University of Technology: “The success in the Excellence Strategy shows: Hamburg is a city of science where strong universities and partners jointly create international visibility and impulses for the future. For TUHH, BlueMat is a special milestone. The cluster combines excellent basic research with our guiding principle ‘Engineering to Face Climate Change’: From the understanding of water-controlled materials, new approaches can arise for climate-friendly technologies, resource-conserving processes, and effective transfer. In this way, cutting-edge research becomes a driver of innovation – for science, the economy, and the major transformation challenges of our time.”
Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren, President of the University of Hamburg: “Four Excellence Clusters at the University of Hamburg – from climate research to particle physics to manuscript research: Such thematic breadth is unique in northern Germany. This diversity is the result of a research culture that has grown over years, in which cooperation across disciplinary boundaries is a given. This is how top research on central societal challenges arises – in and for the Hanseatic city and far beyond. To ensure continued success, it is now crucial that we work together to advocate for the best possible framework conditions.”
Since 2019, the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments has funded cutting-edge research at German universities with 687 million euros annually nationwide. The second funding period runs from 2026 to 2032. Hamburg will receive up to 371 million euros (around 53 million euros per year) from federal and state funds during this period. In addition, complementary funds from the Excellence Basic Funding (EGA) amounting to 13.1 million euros annually will be provided.
TUHH - Public Relations Office
Michael Tokarski
E-Mail: michael.tokarski@tuhh.de
Phone: +49 30601 3458
