Research Infrastructures

As research university in the Helmholtz Association, KIT combines university tasks with large-scale national research. KIT has outstanding research infrastructures, ranging from modern laboratory equipment to high-performance computing systems to globally visible large-scale facilities. The large-scale facilities at KIT open up new research horizons, are drivers of technological development, and offer users unique experimentation options.

Some examples:

• Energy Lab
  With the Energy Lab, a large-scale real-world laboratory has been established on the KIT Campus North, in which the flexible interaction of different energy carriers is simulated realistically. For this purpose, a plant network links electrical, thermal, and chemical energy flows as well as new information and communication technologies.
   
• KATRIN Large-scale Experiment
  KATRIN (KArlsruhe TRitium Neutrino Experiment), the most precise scales in the world, is to determine the exact mass of the smallest particle of matter, the neutrino. Neutrinos play an important role in studies of the origin of matter and in the development of visible structures in the universe.
   
• Grid Computing Centre Karlsruhe
  To process and evaluate the big data volumes of the largest particle accelerator worldwide, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Research Center CERN, scientists have established a global network of computers. As one of eleven main node points in the world, the Grid Computing Centre Karlsruhe (GridKa) based at KIT is involved in the storage and analysis of data.
   
• Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility
  For the structuring and characterization of a variety of functional materials on the micro- and nano scale, the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility provides numerous state-of-the-art technologies. Users from academia and industry can apply for access and are professionally supported by a qualified team on site.
   
• Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA)
  At the KARA electron storage ring, new beam source and accelerator technologies as well as new detectors are developed and tested. Particle accelerators enable deep insight into the structure of matter, for example, synchrotron radiation may be used for non-destructive examinations of biological structures and materials. Furthermore, KARA and the Energy Lab study in the KITTEN test field what energy-efficient big research with accelerators may be like in future.
   
• AIDA Test Facility
  The AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) experimental facility offers unique opportunities to study aerosol and cloud processes under atmospheric conditions and to investigate the effects on climate, weather and the environment.
   
• Bioliq Pilot Plant
  By means of the KIT-developed bioliq® process, fully synthetic diesel or Otto fuel can be produced from straw and other agricultural and forestry residues in a multi-stage procedure. In the pilot plant, the entire process chain is tested and optimized for the large industrial scale.
   
• European Zebrafish Resource Center
  Zebrafish share most organ systems with humans. This makes them ideal model organisms to study the causes of human diseases like cancer or heart diseases. For this purpose, research needs a variety of zebrafish lines. With the European Zebrafish Resource Center, the KIT provides a central repository for such lines in Europe.
   

• Karlsruher Forschungsfabrik (Karlsruhe Research Factory)
  At the Karlsruher Forschungsfabrik, KIT collaborates with the Fraunhofer Society to rapidly transfer production processes to industry. Work ranges from finding-oriented fundamental research to close-to-practice optimization and industrialization through joint research projects to transfer to industry. Research focuses on digitalization of production and potentials of artificial intelligence.
   

• Real-World Labs
  With its real-world labs, KIT directly involves people in research and development. Together, new technologies for the major transformation challenges such as autonomous driving, robotics, climate protection, or the energy transition are piloted here.