In the future
until 2038
Establishment of the CTC as an International Research Centre
The construction of the CTC will be completed. Around 1,000 people will be working on solutions for circular chemistry at the Delitzsch and Merseburg sites. Up to 40 independent research groups will be conducting research into our two moonshot missions and driving forward the transformation of chemistry. Joint research programs, open data rooms, and partner networks will promote the international exchange of ideas, technologies, and talent.
further expansion phase
Growing Research and Talent Factory
Intensive research will already be underway at the CTC, with the first research groups publishing their findings. Each year, three to five new research groups will be added, working on innovative topics over several years. This will create a dynamic environment in which new ideas and talents shape the chemistry of the future.
January – December
Outlook for 2026
• Appointment of a professor of organic chemistry in collaboration with Leipzig University
• Completion of the first pilot research projects
• Launch of three additional junior research groups
• Move into temporary laboratories at City Lab Leipzig at the Alte Messe exhibition center in Leipzig
• Transforming Chemistry Summit on September 15–16 in Leipzig with approximately 200 researchers
• Start of construction on the Chemistry Innovation Lab—the first laboratory and office building on the site of the former Delitzsch sugar factory
To date
January 2026
The CTC is independent
At the turn of the year 2025/2026, the CTC development team will move from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces to the newly founded CTC gGmbH. This marks the end of the first development phase.
November 2025
Entry in the Commercial Register
CTC gGmbH is registered in the commercial register of the Leipzig Local Court as a non-profit company with the purpose of promoting research and development in the field of chemistry. More details
Mai-July 2025
The Progress of the CTC’s Development Is Evaluated
In May 2025, the CTC submits an 80-page factual report on the current status of its development. This is followed in June-July by an on-site inspection by the project sponsor and an assessment of the CTC by a 7-member external commission.
April 2025
CTC Hosts Workshop on Digital Data Standards
In April, the first CTC workshop on promoting the sustainability of digital data standards in the chemical sciences took place in Delitzsch. Internally, the CTC mission statement is finalized and integrated into existing communication processes.
December 2024
Chemistry News Announces CTC Moonshots
The CTC decides to focus its future research on two moonshots: the fully automated laboratory and the completely recyclable car. The CTC will focus its future research on two moonshots – the fully automated pharmaceutical laboratory and the completely recyclable car – and announces this in the editorial “Let’s think big” in the German magazine Nachrichten aus der Chemie.
August 2024
Saxony: Site Purchase of Future CTC Campus
The Free State of Saxony and the CTC special-purpose association (consisting of the district of North Saxony and the city of Delitzsch) have acquired the site of the old sugar factory in Delitzsch. The CTC campus in Saxony will be built here. Over the next few years, the special-purpose association will build an office and laboratory building on part of the site. The CTC will be the first user before moving into its own buildings.
February 2024
Merseburg Will Be the Future CTC Location in Saxony-Anhalt
On February 14th, Merseburg is officially announced as CTC location in Saxony-Anhalt. With its university of applied sciences and a direct connection to the numerous companies in and around the Leuna Chemical Park, Merseburg offers ideal conditions for future research and cooperation between science, industry and the region.
January 2024
Rental of Temporary Office Space in Leuna
The CTC’s growing scientific team moves into temporary offices in the main building of Leunawerke. This ensures a direct link to the companies and research facilities in the Leuna Chemical Park.
November 2023
Key Aspects on CTC Funding Signed
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer and Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister President Dr. Reiner Haseloff sign the key aspects of the federal-state agreement on financing the CTC.
March 2023
Rental of Temporary Office Space in Delitzsch
The Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) obtains offices for the first employees in the building of the District Office of North Saxony in Delitzsch.
January 2023
Start-up Phase Begins
The start-up phase begins. In addition to setting up the organizational structures and preparing for the construction of the research center, the main task is to work out the scientific topics that the CTC will address. All preparatory work is to be completed by no later than 2025.
September 2022
Winning the Competition
The concept for the CTC to establish one of two new large-scale research centers is selected from nearly 100 ideas in the competition “Science Creating Prospects for the Region” organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Free State of Saxony and the State of Saxony-Anhalt. Further information on the competition by BMFTR
July 2022
Defending in Front of Scientific Commission
The scientific quality of each of the six concepts was evaluated by separate, subject-specific Scientific Commissions. Each of these commissions consisted of seven to ten world-leading scientists.
July 2021
Selection by Perspectives Commission
In a first selection round in July 2021, an independent Perspectives Commission selected the best six from nearly 100 proposals and recommended them to be funded for further development. Starting in November 2021, these six initiatives, including the CTC, worked out their visions for potential large-scale research centers into concepts ready for review.
January 2021
Science Creating Prospects for the Region!
“Science Creating Prospects for the Region!” is a joint initiative of the Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Free State of Saxony and the State of Saxony-Anhalt. The ideas competition is based on the “Act on Structural Change in Coal Mining Areas” (StStG).
August 2020
Act on Structural Change in Coal Mining Areas
On August 14, 2020, the “Act on Structural Change in Coal Mining Areas” (StStG) has come into force as a measure to structurally aid the regions affected by the coal phase-out. In order to create new prospects for the coal regions, Section 17 (29) of the StStG provides for the “establishment of one new institutionally funded large-scale research center each in accordance with Helmholtz or comparable conditions in the Saxon part of Lusatia and the Central German mining region on the basis of a competitive procedure”.
