With its first two Max Planck Centers in Singapore, the Max Planck Society is now also present in Southeast Asia
Max Planck Society deepens partnership with Nanyang Technological University
On April 20th, 2026, the contracts for the first two Max Planck Centers in Singapore were signed at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Using automated experiments and artificial intelligence, the Max Planck Singapore Centre for Data-driven Chemistry generates reliable data for chemical reactions and new materials . To investigate how biodiversity and cultural life influence each other, the Max Planck – NTU Singapore Centre for Biocultural Worlding brings together researchers, artists, curators, legal professionals, and knowledge communities.
This raises many questions, such as: " What influence do certain solvents have? ", " Which catalysts best accelerate the reaction process? ", or " How do different substances react with each other and under which conditions? ". To answer these and similar questions in chemistry using artificial intelligence and machine learning methods, reliable data obtained from reproducible experiments, in sufficient precision and as large a quantity as possible, are required.
The challenges involved consist, on the one hand, in reliably repeating chemical experiments, as the incomplete documentation of experiments in specialist literature does not fully reveal all influencing factors. Furthermore, as a general rule, reactions that did not go according to plan are not published.
The goal of the Max Planck Singapore Center for Data-driven Chemistry is to overcome precisely these hurdles through automation and standardization in order to generate reliable chemical data that enables the use of artificial intelligence. This will allow for new insights into chemical reactions and the production of new materials.
The participating Max Planck Institutes complement each other in their expertise: Peter Seeberger's team at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam focuses on complex chemical reactions and the automation of synthesis processes, for example, for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and vaccines. The Process Engineering department at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg – headed by Kai Sundmacher , who is also a CDS member – relies on data-driven methods. These methods serve to predict material properties and to develop sustainable chemical production processes, materials, and molecules in a targeted manner.
“Our vision is to explore large molecular structure spaces using data-driven methods and to search for novel molecules and material structures that possess optimal properties – for example, highly efficient catalysts for fine chemicals or environmentally friendly solvents for the recycling of plastics,” says Kai Sundmacher.