PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

LIGAND ML2

DESY and CrystalsFirst Accelerate Drug Discovery with AI and High-Throughput Crystallography

DESY and the Hamburg-based biotechnology company CrystalsFirst (CF) are launching the second phase of their collaboration to significantly accelerate preclinical drug discovery. The LigandML2 project pursues both overarching development goals and specific scientific and technical objectives, which are structured around clearly defined milestones.

The project partners expect a significant reduction in the time required to identify validated lead compounds—from months to weeks or possibly days.

Hi-Acts (Helmholtz Innovation Platform for Accelorator-based Technologies and Solutions)

Innovative solutions for industry and society with accelorator-based technologies

The Hi-Acts innovation platform makes accelerator-based technologies more accessible for industry and medicine. The five Helmholtz centers Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin are matching their expertise and offering access to their numerous accelerator facilities and research groups via one Single-Entry-Point.

Hi-Acts offers its members and partners unique opportunities for networking and co-creation through its portfolio. Industry partners benefit from numerous advantages. Partners can approach the network with a technological challenge via a compact process called Hi-Acts-Connect in order to find the right Helmholtz center partner with whom to develop joint solutions. They benefit from advice on technologies, patent issues, possible funding, further training opportunities and close dialogue within the growing network with proven experts and industries.

In addition, they can be co-partners and idea providers for the Hi-Acts Use Case Initiatives, a lean funding programme within the framework of Hi-Acts. Furthermore, in interaction with the Technology Labs, the players gain early insights into proven future topics: These range from novel AI solutions and radiopharmaceuticals to fight cancer to compact accelerators - for use in energy or medical technology, in the development of new smart materials or the production of high-performance semiconductors. The aim of Hi-Acts is to integrate pioneering deep-tech solutions more quickly into industrial value chains and thus accelerate sustainable innovation breakthroughs for society.

More information on the Innovation platform Hi-Acts

"TransferWelten" - Combining social impetus and technological innovations

With the "TransferWelten" project, DESY and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) are combining their expertise in the transfer sector to initiate new innovation processes between science, business, society, and politics that would not otherwise exist in conventional innovation environments. As an example, the project seeks to network basic research more closely with stakeholders from the fields of art, culture, and media and to advance collaborative innovations.

The aim of "TransferWelten" is to address issues, ideas, and business models from as many areas of society as possible and to use science to develop solutions to challenges in the Hamburg region. This combines DESY's basic research and HAW Hamburg's application-oriented research in order to create collaborative opportunities for new projects and initiatives.