News

The European Research Council (ERC) is awarding four early-career researchers at the University of Bayreuth, including two members of BayBatt, new ERC Starting Grants, each worth €1.5 million. Their research topics span from sustainability in metal material cycles, to artificial intelligence, polymer science, and high-pressure mineralogy. In addition, Professor Dr. Stephen Mojzsis, a recipient of an ERC Synergy Grant, is joining the University of Bayreuth. He is researching the physical and chemical properties of Earth-like planets in our galaxy.

BayBatt member Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Helbig, Chair of Ecological Resource Technology, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his research project „SEMPATHY: Socio-Economic Metabolism Pathways for Sustainable Metal Cycles“ (SEMPATHY). The project aims to develop an innovative methodology to address the urgent issue of dissipation in global metal cycles, laying the foundation for a sustainable, resilient, and secure supply of technology metals.

As global demand for these metals rises—driven by renewable energy, e-mobility, and digitalisation—the environmental impacts of metal production and processing are becoming increasingly significant. SEMPATHY tackles this challenge by developing a revolutionary modelling framework that, for the first time, enables a systemic view of global metal cycles. It can track metals as alloying elements, impurities, or within waste streams. The result will be digital, interactive metal pathway maps that trace the journey of technology metals from mining to recycling, taking into account yield rates, elemental composition, and unintended contamination. The project is set to begin in January 2026 and will be funded through to 2030 with €1.5 million.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Künneth, Junior Professor for Computational Materials Science, has received an ERC Starting Grant for his project „Generative Polymer Informatics“ (genPI). His research aims to use generative artificial intelligence to create novel polymer structures with precisely tailored properties, thereby accelerating the traditionally resource-intensive and manual discovery processes in polymer science. This groundbreaking approach promises to unlock entirely new classes of polymers and directly addresses key global challenges such as ecological sustainability, enhanced functionality, and innovative synthesis methods. If successful, the project could revolutionise polymer production—from sustainable manufacturing to healthcare—and foster collaboration and innovation between academia and industry. The project will be funded for five years starting in 2026, with a total of €1.5 million.

The complete press release by the University of Bayreuth with information on the other grantees as well as background information on ERC Grants can be found here.