Each year, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits one of Germany’s federal states together with the Diplomatic Corps. In 2026, the journey takes him to Saarland. Accompanied by Saarland’s Minister-President Anke Rehlinger and an international delegation, he visited the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials on the campus of Saarland University today.
The distinguished guests were welcomed by the INM’s Management Board: Wilfried Weber, Aránzazu del Campo, and Michael Marx. “For INM as a materials research institute, this visit is a special honor,” emphasized Professor Weber in his welcome address. “At a time marked by geopolitical uncertainty, climate challenges, and rapid technological transformation, materials science plays a crucial role. Materials are the foundation of innovation: they determine which technologies are possible, how sustainable they can be, and how resilient our economies will become. Our society, our economy, and our planet urgently need new materials that push the boundaries of performance, functionality, and sustainability.”
The Federal President and the Minister-President experienced firsthand how INM’s research contributes to addressing these challenges during a tour of the institute’s laboratories. One highlight was the presentation of so-called “living materials” and their wide range of potential applications. In Professor Weber’s research department, cells are programmed to produce materials with specific, tailor-made properties. One example is a sustainable wood-based material that offers the advantages of conventional particleboard while being fully recyclable. Instead of petroleum-based adhesives used in traditional particleboard production, the material relies on a bio-based adhesive produced by specially engineered bacteria.
Another groundbreaking application of living materials is the development of implants capable of producing therapeutic agents directly within the body, either continuously or on demand, precisely where they are needed. Professor del Campo’s team demonstrated this concept using an innovative contact lens. Living cells embedded within the lens continuously generate active compounds, enabling sustained drug delivery directly to the surface of the eye.
The visit also provided members of the Diplomatic Corps with an opportunity to explore the broader spectrum of research conducted at INM. Featured projects ranged from next-generation battery technologies—including innovative methods for recovering lithium from end-of-life batteries—in the Energy Materials Department led by Professor Volker Presser, to flexible conductive materials for soft electronics and bioinspired flying sensors for environmental monitoring presented by Professor Tobias Kraus and his team.
Federal President Steinmeier and Minister-President Rehlinger expressed their admiration for the outstanding research carried out at INM. The institute’s interdisciplinary work addresses some of the most pressing challenges of the future across a wide range of scientific fields.