Our Vision and Mission
The MEP network unites interdisciplinary research and global expertise to build a more sustainable world. Our vision is rooted in resilient circular systems and efficient value chains. From materials science to advanced manufacturing, we deliver transformative solutions designed to improve human life and protect our natural resources.
Our Mission is to accelerate scientific progress amid increasing resource constraints. We conduct integrative research across our core MEP focus areas, Materials, Energy, and Process Engineering, to enable sustainable, adaptive, and high-performance industrial ecosystems.
A central driver of this mission is the 4D Materials Nexus: a scale-bridging, life-cycle-aware approach to designing and optimizing engineering, biological, and energy materials through data-integrated simulation. By fostering a vibrant network between academia, industry, and society, we transform knowledge into tangible societal value. Through strategic partnerships and science communication, we create the synergies necessary to drive the long-term sustainable transformation of technology.
4D Materials Nexus: Our Common Core
The 4D Materials Nexus embodies a holistic approach to research, spanning multiple length and time scales and encompassing the entire material life cycle. By seamlessly integrating data-driven models and first-principles simulations with experimental expertise, we enable the targeted design of microstructures based on macroscale performance requirements.
As the unifying framework of the MEP, the 4D Materials Nexus empowers all focus areas. It provides the methodological foundation that bridges materials science, energy systems, bioprocess engineer-ing, and manufacturing – creating a coherent, interdisciplinary ecosystem for innovation.
In Focus Area M, the MEP investigates materials, whose properties change over time and can be controlled by internal or external stimuli. Our research covers solid functional and shape‑changing materials as well as fluid particulate multiphase and phase‑transforming systems. We use digital multiscale simulation models for knowledge‑based material development and design. This allows us to understand materials not only as substances but as functional systems that can actively respond and adapt to changing requirements... Learn more
In Focus Area E, the MEP develops comprehensive strategies for carbon‑neutral energy systems by incorporating material production, component manufacturing and environmental interactions into system design. We consider energy supply as an integrated whole and develop holistic models of energy systems and their interdependencies. To do this, we combine system‑of‑systems analyses with the potential of 4D materials and advanced modelling methods in order to evaluate and optimize sustainable energy conversion, energy storage and energy supply... Learn more
In Focus Area P, the MEP develops integrated strategies for modern biomanufacturing and process systems by incorporating material production, component manufacturing and the interactions of biomolecular processes into system design. We develop processes that enable robust, efficient and sustainable production of innovative products and place a clear emphasis on high‑value bioproducts and material hybrids. To achieve this we combine system‑of‑systems analyses with the potential of 4D materials and with advanced modelling and prediction methods to optimize biochemical and chemical transformations... Learn more
