DFG continues to fund the HU project consortium FAIRmat until the end of 2038
In the new funding period, FAIRmat is placing greater emphasis on AI for data-driven science
FAIRmat is a consortium for data infrastructure in the materials sciences, which has been coordinated by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) since its foundation in 2021. It forms part of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). In July, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) of the Federal Government and the Länder decided to continue funding FAIRmat and the nine other NFDI consortia from the second round. The aim of the NFDI is to catalogue, safeguard and interlink data sets from science and research.
“The continuation of this funding is an important recognition of the progress FAIRmat has made over the last five years and a commitment to the future,” says Prof. Dr Claudia Draxl, spokesperson for FAIRmat and Professor of Physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. “Research data management has become an essential part of modern research. The second funding period will enable us to further expand our services, strengthen collaboration with researchers and partner institutions both within and outside the NFDI, and continue to develop sustainable solutions that enable open, reproducible and data-driven science. The whole team is looking forward to continuing our work with even greater enthusiasm.”
Use of AI for data-driven science
FAIRmat is committed to the FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of digital data, and to the principle of open-source software. FAIRmat is developing NOMAD, a data platform for solid-state research. NOMAD comprises a broad portfolio of tools for the processing, storage, curation, analysis and reuse of research data, which together constitute a comprehensive service for FAIR-compliant research data management. In the second phase, FAIRmat will intensify its activities in the field of artificial intelligence with a new focus on ‘Enabling Data-driven Science’. The FAIRmat consortium brings together leading international experts from various sub-fields within its broad research area.
FAIRmat is coordinated at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The co-applicant institutions include the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), the Max Planck Computing Facility (MPCDF), the non-profit association Data Facility (MPCDF), and FAIR Data Infrastructure for Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Science (FAIR-DI).
DFG press release dated 10 July 2026 (in German)
Credit: HU Berlin, 17 July 2026