Today Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) was granted funding for three Clusters of Excellence as part of the federal and state governments’ Excellence Strategy. All three clusters for which LUH submitted applications will receive several million euros in funding for seven years starting in January 2026. This is an outstanding result which underscores the university’s standing in the field of cutting-edge research – both nationally and internationally. It means that LUH has also cleared the hurdle necessary to apply for University of Excellence status, which requires that two Clusters of Excellence are funded.
“Today’s decision is an outstanding success for Leibniz University Hannover. It reinforces our commitment to embark on the process of becoming a University of Excellence,” said Prof. Dr. Volker Epping, president of LUH. He emphasised: “The university management would like to thank all the researchers who have dedicated themselves with extraordinary commitment over the last several years, and especially in recent months, to both their research fields and the applications for the Clusters of Excellence. I have great respect for this achievement and the determination to take part in such a challenging competition.” All three clusters have already been underway for one or two successful funding periods and can now continue their research.
The application for University of Excellence status has to be submitted to the German Research Foundation (DFG) in November 2025. The reviewers will be in Hannover for an on-site visit between April and June 2026, and the decision will be announced at the end of September 2026.
The three Clusters of Excellence funded at LUH:
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, Engineering Innovation – Across Dimensions
The PhoenixD Cluster of Excellence will now begin its second funding period. It aims to develop optical precision instruments in a rapid and cost-effective manner in order to enable cutting-edge use in medical diagnostics, food production, telecommunication and quantum communication. To realise this goal, researchers from the six fields of mechanical engineering, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and chemistry are working together and investigating the manipulation and detection of laser light.
In recent years, Hannover has seen the emergence of an optics and photonics research ecosystem, which will form its own optics campus in Marienwerder with the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. and the OPTICUM research building, the latter of which is currently under construction.
“Over the past seven years, the roughly 150 researchers who make up PhoenixD have published a large number of innovative research findings which wouldn’t have been possible without the interdisciplinary cooperation under the umbrella of the cluster. The seal of excellence granted through the approval of funding is due above all to our young scientists, who have done outstanding research. The fact that we are the only photonics cluster selected in Germany underscores our special position with respect to this technology of the future,” said PhoenixD spokesperson Prof. Dr. Uwe Morgner of LUH. “The funding approval is a great acknowledgement of our developmental work. Over the coming seven years we will expand the competence network and appoint additional top-notch international researchers in Lower Saxony.”
In addition to Leibniz University Hannover, the participants in the research collaboration are TU Braunschweig, the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V., the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.
Additional information: https://www.phoenixd.uni-hannover.de/en/
QuantumFrontiers: Pushing the Boundaries of the Measurable
The QuantumFrontiers Cluster of Excellence will now enter its second funding period. Its central aim is to carry out measurements at the quantum frontier with a level of precision never achieved before – and to both advance basic research and explore potential applications of quantum technologies. During the current project period, QuantumFrontiers has taken on a leading role in the international research landscape with its outstanding findings and has developed a state-of-the-art infrastructure.
“To measure means to know – QuantumFrontiers is shifting the boundaries which are at the centre of the natural sciences, because precise measurements are critical to every advance in physics and technology,” said cluster spokesperson Prof. Dr. Silke Ospelkaus of LUH. She explained: “With quantum metrology, we are pushing into unexplored territory and achieving a level of precision never reached before. We have developed QuantumFrontiers into a globally unique centre in this field. And this is just the beginning: in the coming seven years we will continue to push the boundaries of the measurable together with our partners and make a lasting mark on both science and society.”
QuantumFrontiers is developing the next generation of atom interferometers, optical clocks and gravitational-wave detectors. These systems are furthering the search for unknown forces, dark energy and matter. It is possible to identify previously undetected astrophysical events that occurred during the early stages of the universe. High-precision earth observation and robust, efficient sensors enable the drawing of conclusions about changes to the water cycle and other processes relevant to the environment and the climate.
The cluster brings together researchers from physics, the engineering sciences, computer science, and the social and educational sciences. It is led by LUH, and the participating institutions are TU Braunschweig, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V., the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, the DLR Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute).
Additional information about QuantumFrontiers: https://www.quantumfrontiers.de/en/
Hearing4all.connects: Innovating Hearing Health Technology from Ear to Brain to Society
The Hearing4all Cluster of Excellence aims to improve the prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss. It has generated important findings over two funding periods since 2012. Now the research collaboration will incorporate new disciplines under the title Hearing4all.connects. For example, the researchers will investigate new genetic approaches to the forecasting, diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss. Another subject of research will be how AI can help hearing aids and implants distinguish between important and unimportant sources of sound.
The researchers also aim to create joint data standards which will make it possible to train AI-based systems to predict the probability that individuals will experience hearing loss. Another research field involves developing hearing aids into “health headquarters located in the ear”. Sensor data collected from the ear could provide long-term data for medical examinations and help recognise early indicators of health risks. The researchers also aim to take people’s lived realities more closely into account. The focus here will be on the impact of multilingualism on hearing, examinations outside the lab, and the value of hearing for social interactions. Close cooperation with non-university partners who can assist in applying the findings in practice as quickly as possible remains a central element of the project.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Blume, spokesperson for the Hearing4all group at LUH: “Hearing impairment reduces quality of life to the point of social isolation and increases the incidence of dementia. Through its research expertise, Hearing4all has developed numerous solutions for technical hearing aids and for therapies for all forms of hearing loss up to and including deafness.”
Approximately 350 people from different disciplines including medical physics, neuroscience, psychology, ear, nose and throat specialities, engineering sciences, and linguistics work in the cluster. In addition to the applicant universities University of Oldenburg (lead university), Hannover Medical School and Leibniz University Hannover, the following institutions are also part of the cluster: Hörzentrum Oldenburg gGmbH; Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT – Oldenburg Branch for Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology HSA; Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven / Oldenburg / Elsfleth; German Hearing Center Hannover; and Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V.
Additional information about Hearing4all.connects: https://hearing4all.de/en/
Additional information about the Excellence Strategy at LUH:
https://www.uni-hannover.de/en/forschung/exzellenzstrategie
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