Series: University of Hamburg buildings in the Science City“We Are on a Par with Garching”

3 February 2025, by Claudia Sewig

Photo: University of Hamburg

The CFEL, the Start-up Labs Hamburg, and Building 61 with PIER are all located in the vicinity of Luruper Chaussee (and thus the main entrance to the University of Hamburg site), which separates the Campus West from the Volkspark neighborhoods currently being planned.

The Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld is changing faster than any other research center in Hamburg. On occasion, we ask University of Hamburg members to introduce their workplace in existing or planned Science City research buildings and tell us what makes their building special. Today: the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Building 61, including PIER and the Start-up Labs Hamburg.

Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL): Laser research alliance

The CFEL building stands out due to its round shape. Photo: University of Hamburg / Esfandiari

Prof. Dr. Florian Grüner is from the field of compact X-ray sources based on laser plasma acceleration. Unsurprisingly, he works in a building with a name that includes the word “laser.” The striking Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL for short) in the northern part of the Science City has a massive foundation and a light and airy office rotunda. According to Grüner, even partners from industry find it stunning again and again. “We cooperate with big players such as Siemens Healthineers, Audi, and Biontech. CFEL guests are usually fascinated right away. The building speaks for itself—given its enormous size alone. Also, the offices are made of glass, thus creating an open atmosphere. On all floors, tea bars can be found everywhere, which is really great. There is also a café on the ground floor—what more could you ask for in Hamburg weather?”

Besides its architecture, the CFEL is the world’s only hub for cutting-edge research on next-generation light sources. It was established as a cooperation between DESY, the Max Planck Society, and the University of Hamburg with the aim to build new basic knowledge for developing prospective materials and drugs as well as for information and energy technology.

Florian Grüner heads one of 6 University working groups at CFEL. In close collaboration with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) his group mostly focuses on applications of innovative compact X-ray sources, in particular biomedical imaging—the most important application. “Together with Dr. Neus Feliu’s group from the CHyN, we are the only physics group to be part of a newly approved collaborative research center led by the UKE: Immune Regulation in the Liver: from Homeostasis to Disease. The goal is to track immune cells with a completely new method, the tracing of labeled antibodies that specifically dock at certain immune cells. It is a great opportunity to use our innovative imaging technique, known as X-ray fluorescence, in biomedical research,” says Grüner.

He particularly enjoys the collaboration of the University of Hamburg, DESY, and MPG in one building: “It’s cool that I can clarify detailed questions just one floor up with all the experts.” To carry out experiments at the DESY synchrotron radiation source, I only need to cross the street—but in future, Grüner’s working group may need to resort to that less often: “We are working with Siemens Healthineers and already developed 2 prototype laboratory sources that allow for measurements of our special X-ray fluorescence imaging as accurate as the synchrotron’s although they are no bigger than large refrigerators. This is a major breakthrough, even if the measuring time is still about 10 times longer than at the synchrotron.” Nonetheless, they still feel perfectly at home at Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld: “I am from Munich and worked in Garching, which is often seen as the measure of all things. But the incredibly wide range of disciplines in Bahrenfeld definitely equals Garching,” says Grüner.

Building 61 One of the oldest buildings plus a work of art

Aesthetically speaking, there are far more attractive buildings at Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld, which nobody can deny. “Nevertheless, Building 61 is special,” says Dr. Marion Stange. She coordinates the PIER office in the 2-story building, which also houses Physics and DASHH rooms—the Data Science in Hamburg Helmholtz Graduate School for the Structure of Matter. PIER stands for the strategic Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research” founded in 2011 by DESY and the University of Hamburg to promote collaboration between the 2 two partner institutions in research, support of yearly career researchers, and transfer/innovation.

“Several special features make Building 61 stand out: First of all, it is one of the oldest buildings on the site. A photo of the site taken in 1963 shows it in all of its glory next to the recently completed first particle accelerator ring,” says Marion Stange. The building is also renowned as a successful example of art in public space thanks to the “Blasenkammer,” created in 1965 by Ragna and Hans Sperschneider and located next to the entrance. “And thirdly, Building 61 stands out, for it is currently the only University building at Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld with a traditional lecture hall. This will of course change in future. Before there are new lecture hall buildings in Bahrenfeld, however, further cohorts of physics students will be able to enjoy the special charm of the lecture hall.”

The best thing about her work at Science City is the privilege of working with people who are passionate about what they do, says Marion Stange. “Purpose”—often invoked today as key to making our work meaningful—is omnipresent here, among both academics and our colleagues in administration alike. I also appreciate the international character of Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld, where people from all over the world come to do research and work. This clearly makes it one of the most cosmopolitan places in Hamburg.”

Start-up Labs Hamburg: The first component of an innovation ecosystem

Start-up Labs Hamburg, which opened in mid-2021, is already home to more than 30 start-ups, some of them founded only recently, says Denny Droßmann, managing director of Start-up Labs Hamburg. “We operate the building and are therefore a landlord for deep-tech and high-tech start-ups, originating in research environments. We are the first of several Science City cornerstones in an innovation ecosystem here, says Droßmann.

The joint venture between the University of Hamburg, DESY, and the City of Hamburg is located on Luruper Hauptstraße. Droßmann: “The great thing is that we play a dual role: we have an external address, while our second half is located on the research campus, the very epitome of a start-up lab.” As executive engineer, Dipl.-Ing. Droßmann adopted the draft for the 4-story, bright building and contributed some of his own ideas: “I looked at many other locations and similar centers, both in Germany and in other European countries.” The result is a modern building with 50 percent of the space being used as labs and workshops. Even if these do not all have high-end equipment like research laboratories, there are, for example, laser laboratories that meet high standards in terms of low vibration, air purity, or temperature stability, says Droßmann.

Overall, many of the start-ups based here come from the field of physics. But companies from the biological sector, medicine, and life sciences in general are also represented. “The building design is pretty flexible, particularly in the workshop and lab areas, and we are open-minded operators. We can decide on short notice if someone wants to book a room for the next day. Being this dynamic is our unique selling point on this campus,” says Droßmann.