NFDI4Chem

Name

NFDI4Chem

Legal name

NFDI4Chem - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Website

https://nfdi4chem.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Data Management Infrastructure for Chemistry

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Reference Data Management (RDM) (HDAEADAE)

Keywords

• Research data infrastructure
• Electronic lab notebooks
• FAIR data management
• Chemistry repositories
• Data management plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Jena

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. DFG Funding: NFDI4Chem is a DFG-funded non-commercial consortium. All services are provided free of charge to the chemistry research community as part of Germany's National Research Data Infrastructure initiative.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NFDI4Chem develops and maintains national research data infrastructure for the chemistry domain, providing a free, integrated ecosystem of FAIR-compliant services. Its offerings include the Chemotion electronic lab notebook (ELN) and LabIMotion extension, the RADAR4Chem repository for data publication, the RDMO4Chem data management plan tool, a terminology service with 50+ chemistry-specific vocabularies, a cross-repository search service, a knowledge base, a helpdesk, and workshops/training programs for the chemistry research community.

Product overview

NFDI4Chem is a DFG-funded non-commercial consortium providing a comprehensive ecosystem of FAIR data services for the chemistry community. The portfolio centers on Chemotion ELN (electronic laboratory notebook) with its LabIMotion extension for customizable workflows, complemented by RADAR4Chem repository for data publication, and integrated terminology services including 50+ chemistry-specific terminologies. Additional services include the RDMO4Chem DMP tool, Knowledge Base, Search Service, and Helpdesk, along with workshops and training programs. The platform is operated by Friedrich Schiller University Jena with support from multiple German research institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chemotion ELN Open-source electronic laboratory notebook for chemists that enables seamless capture, storage, search, and publication of chemical research data following FAIR principles. Supports chemistry-specific functionality including molecule drawing and reaction tracking. Free for the chemistry research community.
• LabIMotion Generic extension of Chemotion ELN released as a standalone tool, allowing users to design custom user interfaces and workflow templates without programming knowledge. Modules can be linked for clear assignment of materials and samples to processes. Supports use with or without chemistry functionality.
• RDMO4Chem Research Data Management Organiser customized for chemistry. Online tool supporting planning and creation of data management plans (DMPs) using chemistry-specific templates, integrated with NFDI AAI authentication.
• RADAR4Chem Repository service for flexible, reliable FAIR data publication ensuring long-term availability of chemical research data, with integrated NFDI4Chem terminology support for standardized metadata annotation.
• NFDI4Chem Terminology Service Service providing access to over 50 curated chemistry-specific terminologies and controlled vocabularies including InChI, SMILES, and IUPAC nomenclature for standardized metadata annotation, integrated with RADAR4Chem via TS4NFDI.
• NFDI4Chem Knowledge Base Comprehensive knowledge repository providing best practices, guidelines, and documentation for FAIR research data management in chemistry, available to the community as a reference resource.
• NFDI4Chem Search Service Cross-consortium search service enabling discovery of chemical research data across distributed NFDI repositories and databases.
• NFDI4Chem Helpdesk Support service for researchers seeking guidance on research data management, data repositories, and electronic lab notebooks for chemistry, available via email at [email protected].
• NFDI4Chem Workshops Educational programs including hands-on workshops for ELNs (Chemotion, LabIMotion, eLabFTW), FAIR data management, DMP writing, and repository usage, available free of charge in German and English online and on-site at institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 chemistry-specific terminologies available for metadata annotation
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Friedrich Schiller University JenacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020The host institution for NFDI4Chem. Operates the consortium office and provides administrative infrastructure. The Institute for Anorganic and Analytical Chemistry leads the consortium coordination.
• InChI TrustcoreTechnology or IntegrationNFDI4Chem actively participates in the development and improvement of molecular identifiers (InChI standard) for chemical data interoperability.
• International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI4Chem participates in standardization processes for digital research data through IUPAC, including involvement in the Sustainable Chemistry Data Standards Coalition.
• NFDI4IngcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation on data management plans. NFDI4Chem obtained its own tenant of the RDMO DMP tool with a chemistry-specific template. Active collaboration on template standardization.
• CODATAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose exchange with the Committee on Data of the International Science Council (ISC) for international data standards alignment.
• DALIA - Data Literacy AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI4Chem supports this platform for open educational resources in data literacy, with consortium members involved in developing shared training materials.
• Physical Sciences Data Infrastructure (PSDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular exchange due to similar goals, work, and interests in research data infrastructure for physical sciences.
• Jungchemikerforum (JCF)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with the youth organization of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) to promote cultural change toward FAIR data among young chemists.
• FID - ChemPortalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing exchange and close cooperation with the discipline-specific information service for chemistry as they pursue common goals.
• TS4NFDI (Terminology Services 4 NFDI)coreTechnology or IntegrationBasic NFDI service providing terminology infrastructure that NFDI4Chem's terminology collection integrates with for standardized metadata annotation.
• Sustainable Chemistry Data Standards Coalition (SCDSC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI4Chem joined the founding initiative in May 2026. The coalition aims to create a sustainable, coordinated landscape of community-driven standards for digital data in chemistry. Led by Pistoia Alliance with CODATA administrative support and IUPAC as scientific lead. Project launch Q4 2026.
• Pistoia AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitial leadership of the Sustainable Chemistry Data Standards Coalition (SCDSC) 18-month project.
• DigSustain Coalition MembersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition for Sustainability of Digital Data Standards including IUPAC, CODATA, Pistoia Alliance, PSDI, InChI Trust, IUCr, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Beilstein Institute. Holds workshops in Cambridge, Delitzsch, and London to establish governance structures for chemical data standards.
• Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) HannovercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution and co-processor of personal data from event registrations and helpdesk inquiries under Art. 26 GDPR.
• Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzenbiochemie, HallecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution leading TA4 (Metadata, Data, and Publication Standards).
• Johannes Gutenberg-Universität MainzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution with NMR expertise contributing to TA5 (Community & Training).
• FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz-Institut für InformationsinfrastrukturcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution contributing to repository infrastructure and data services.
• RWTH AachencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution leading TA5 (Community & Training) with expertise in cheminformatics and digital chemistry.
• Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-applicant institution contributing to Smart Lab (TA2) and repository development.
• NFDI e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOverarching association of 26 consortia where NFDI4Chem participates in sections (Education & Training, Metadata, ELSA, Common Infrastructures), task forces, and circles for cross-consortium topics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• eLabFTW: Open-source electronic lab notebook explicitly mentioned alongside Chemotion in NFDI4Chem's own FAIR Research Data Management workshops. Both target academic research labs with free, self-hostable ELNs and compete for the same chemistry-adjacent user base.
• NFDI4Ing: Sister NFDI consortium for engineering sciences, co-developing data management plan templates with NFDI4Chem and sharing base NFDI infrastructure (TS4NFDI, NFDI AAI, Base4NFDI). Operates under the same DFG-funded consortium model.
• NFDI4Cat: Sister NFDI consortium focused on catalysis research, directly adjacent to NFDI4Chem's chemistry domain. Operates with the same DFG funding model and shares cross-consortium infrastructure components.
• Zenodo: Open-access data repository operated by CERN that serves a comparable role to RADAR4Chem for general research data publication. Both are widely-used repositories supporting FAIR data principles for academic researchers.
• Physical Sciences Data Infrastructure (PSDI): UK national research data infrastructure for physical sciences, partnered with NFDI4Chem. Both pursue FAIR-compliant data infrastructure for physical/chemical sciences and engage in joint standards work.
• NFDI4Health: Sister NFDI consortium for health-related data, operating with the same DFG-funded national research data infrastructure model as NFDI4Chem and sharing common base services within NFDI e.V.
• DataCite: Non-profit DOI registration agency for research data, providing persistent identifiers and metadata infrastructure comparable to NFDI4Chem's terminology and metadata services. Both underpin FAIR data infrastructure globally.

Emerging players

• Benchling: Commercial cloud-based life sciences R&D platform with electronic lab notebook and chemistry capabilities. Competes with Chemotion ELN for chemistry research users, particularly in industry and well-funded academic labs, with stronger UX and AI features.

Broad incumbents

• RDA (Research Data Alliance): Global community organization developing recommendations and standards for research data sharing. RDA operates at a broader scope than NFDI4Chem but shares the mission of advancing FAIR data practices and interoperable infrastructure.
• IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry): International authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, and standards. NFDI4Chem is a core partner in IUPAC's digital data standardization efforts, and IUPAC's chemical identifiers (InChI) integrate with NFDI4Chem's terminology services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NFDI4Chem
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQlKQDjyYFzlUFrDfR9vVJg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nfdi4chem
• Instagraminstagram.com/nfdi4chem

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NFDI4Chem