Following two years of construction, the Ulm Helmholtz Institute (HIU) at Ulm University was ceremoniously opened on 31 October 2014. The German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof Dr Johanna Wanka, was among the guests. Managed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), the HIU will primarily conduct research into the high-efficiency mobile and stationary batteries of the future.

The end of construction work marks the completion of another ground-breaking research building project by Nickl & Partner Architekten AG. The HIU’s distinctive façade design references the themes of chemistry and physics. The different hole sizes in the perforated sheet metal elements of the homogenous outer façade plane create an excited optical interference pattern. The interplay between different perforations and variable sun and glare protection provides the HIU building with high recognition value and an individual identity.