Research Groups

Talent Factory – Our Junior Research Groups

The Talent Factory serves as an integral component of the CTC’s research and transfer strategy, aligning with the overarching mission to foster an ecosystem for innovation and excellence in chemical research and enabling technologies. Ultimately, comprising up to 40 independent research groups, the Talent Factory operates as a dynamic hub for nurturing novel and ambitious ideas and promoting creative exploration within the thematic areas of the CTC.

Through its commitment to fostering emerging talent and cultivating groundbreaking research, the Talent Factory stands as a cornerstone of the CTC’s vision for advancing scientific discovery and driving transformative change within the chemical industry. The CTC supports research across the full spectrum from fundamental science to applied innovation and technology transfer, ensuring that novel ideas can mature into impactful solutions for society and the economy.

Research Group: Computational Biorefineries 

Why Biomass? 

Chemistry shapes nearly every product in our daily lives. Yet 90% of the raw materials feeding today's chemical industry are still fossil-based. Biomass—such as microalgae or lignocellulose from wood—offers a renewable alternative. In a circular economy, biorefineries play a central role: they fractionate biomass into its main components—lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, lipids, and proteins. These serve as bio-based precursors for materials, solvents, lubricants, additives, and platform chemicals. To fully unlock the potential of biomass, we must develop resource-efficient fractionation processes with high yields.

Research Objectives and Focus 

• Computer-aided design of bio-based molecules and biorefinery processes 
• Model-based prediction of molecular and mixture properties 
• Solvent screening and design, catalyst selection 
• Model-based optimization of biomass fractionation processes  

With Computational Biorefining, we aim to lay the foundation for a bio-based circular industry – from the biorefinery process to the final product. 

Beyond Substitution – Designing Circular Chemicals 

Simply replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable ones is not enough. Future chemicals must be circular by design: biodegradable, easily recyclable, able to close material loops, and capable of meeting stringent industrial performance requirements.

 "Our work is driven by one goal: designing molecules that enable a chemical industry that respects the limits of our planet – sustainable from the biorefinery process up to the final product." – Dr. Laura König-Mattern 

Our Approach: Computational Biorefining 

Our research advances this vision by computer-aided molecular and process design:

• Predicting solubilities, phase equilibria, and partitioning coefficients
• Developing novel extraction strategies for biorefineries 
• Model-based optimization of biomass fractionation yields 
• Selecting optimal solvents and catalysts 

Once extracted, these bio-based precursors are converted into circular chemicals. To achieve this, we develop computer-aided molecular design tools to create molecules that are both industrially functional and inherently circular.Currently, our focus is on lignocellulose-derived surfactants. In the future, we aim to extend these approaches to solvents, additives, lubricants, and polymers. 

Our Research Group Leadership

News

• Tagesspiegel article (German) “100 brightest minds in science”: New ideas for the circular economy: These scientists are leading the industry in new directions
• Press release German Thesis Award: Laura König-Mattern wins 2nd place at the German Thesis Award

Selected Publications

• L. König-Mattern, L. Rihko-Struckmann, and K. Sundmacher, “Systematic solvent selection enables the fractionation of wet microalgal biomass,” Separation and PurificationTechnology, vol. 354, p. 129 462, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.129462
• L. König-Mattern, E. I. Sanchez Medina, A. O. Komarova, S. Linke, L. Rihko-Struckmann, J. Luterbacher, and K. Sundmacher, “Machine learning-supported solvent design for lignin-first biorefineries and lignin upgrading,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 495, p. 153 524, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.153524 
• L. König-Mattern, A. O. Komarova, A. Ghosh, S. Linke, L. K. Rihko- Struckmann, J. Luterbacher, and K. Sundmacher, “High-throughput computational solvent screening for lignocellulosic biomass processing,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 452, p. 139 476, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.139476
• J. Kopton, L. K. Rihko-Struckmann, L. König-Mattern, and K. Sundmacher, “Superstructure optimization of a microalgal biorefinery design with life cycle assessment‐based and economic objectives,” Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1515–1527, 2023.
• L. König-Mattern, S. Linke, L. Rihko-Struckmann, and K. Sundmacher, “Computer-aided solvent screening for the fractionation of wet microalgae biomass ,” Green Chemistry, 10.1039.D1GC03471E, 2021.

Research Group: Circular Sustainable Polymers

Standard plastics date back to the 1950s and were never designed for recycling. At the same time, Europe's share of global plastics production has fallen dramatically over the past two decades. Our research group develops fundamentally new, mass-market viable polymers that are molecularly engineered to enable a true circular economy. 

Research Objectives and Focus 

• Polymer Chemistry – Synthesis of polyethylene-like materials with deliberately engineered chemical breaking points for true closed-loop recycling
• Renewable Resources – Decoupling plastics production from fossil carbon through bio-based monomers derived from plant oils and biomass
• Design for Recycling – Molecular design that embeds recyclability and biodegradability as intrinsic material properties
• Scalable Synthesis Concepts – Translating novel polymerisation methods and catalytic systems into industrially relevant, scalable processes

Why New Plastics?

The standard plastics used today are a relics of post-war chemistry: they were optimised for maximum durability in the 1050s , yet never intended for recycling. Their extremely stable polymer chains of carbon–bonds resist virtually any form of chemical degradation – once considered a triumph but today contributes to the ecological crisis.

Mechanical recycling loses quality with every cycle, and energy-intensive; pyrolysis is not a sustainable solution – it consumes enormous amounts of energy. In addition to better waste management, we need a fundamentally new material concept.

“Plastics were one of the greatest triumphs of 20th-century chemistry – and its greatest blind spot. We must develop materials that perform just as well, but are designed for the modern circular economy from the outset.” – Dr. Manuel Häußler

Our Approach: Molecular Design for a Circular Economy

Our research focus is on long-chain aliphatic polycondensates, whose crystalline structure mimics the mechanical and thermal properties of polyethylene. Through the strategic integration of oxygen-based linkages (ester groups), these materials can be broken down back into their original monomers under mild conditions. This enables true closed-loop recycling without any loss of quality. Even during synthesis, we rely on scalable, automated, data-driven processes to precisely control material properties from the very beginning.

Looking ahead, we aim to expand our research to include alternative, sustainable feedstock streams such as insect fats derived from biological waste, as well as enzymatic depolymerization processes for cross-linked polymers. Our goal is a fully closed-loop material platform that replaces fossil-based feedstocks and makes high-performance plastics circularly available on an industrial scale.

Our research advances this vision:

• Polyethylene-like materials from renewable resources that can be recycled in closed loop systems without any loss of quality
• Drop-in compatibility with existing industrial infrastructure: from synthesis through processing via extrusion, injection moulding, 3D printing, and fiber spinning without the need to retrofit existing equipment
• Inherent biodegradability as a safety net against the long-term accumulation of microplastics in the environment

Our Research Group Leadership

Science Communication

• Dr. Häußler is actively engaged in science communication, conveying the urgency of a new plastics chemistry through podcasts, public lectures and media appearances.

News 

• Podcast: SPRIND Podcast #79 – Manuel Häußler on the end of fossil plastics: Listen on YouTube 
• Podcast: Startup Insider – “We still use plastics from the 1950s”: €8.25M for Plastics 2.0: Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Selected Publications 

• Häußler, M., Eck, M., Rothauer, D. & Mecking, S. Closed-loop recycling of polyethylene-like materials. Nature 590, 423–427 (2021).