Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)

What Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) does

Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) is a Cluster of Excellence (Exzellenzcluster) embedded within the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, a public university corporation under German law. The cluster's mandate is to develop bioinspired materials systems that combine natural principles with engineering to create quasi-living materials capable of adapting autonomously to their environment, harvesting clean energy from it, and recovering from damage. Research spans six faculties covering energy research, biomimetics, microsystems engineering, sustainability research, psychology, and philosophy, and is organized across Research Areas A-D with infrastructure that includes the livMatS Pavilion (a robotically wound flax-fibre structure in the Freiburg Botanical Garden, 2021) and the Biomimetic Shell @ FIT building (groundbreaking 2022, completed 2023).

The cluster produces research demonstrators and scientific outputs rather than commercial products. Notable artefacts include the Solar Gate and FlectoLine pine-cone-inspired energy-autonomous building facades, protein-based artificial muscles, monolithically integrated photosupercapacitors, 3D-printed pneumatic logic modules for soft robots, electrically switchable cellulose Nanopaper, and a biodegradable biohybrid reforestation robot. Technology transfer is conducted through partnerships with Penn State University (LiMC² joint research center), the University of Stuttgart, Festo, and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics.

Commercial revenue is not generated. livMatS is funded primarily through the German Excellence Strategy (up to €50M allocated over seven years from January 2019 until June 2025), supplemented by foundation grants (e.g., Carl Zeiss Foundation €4.5M in November 2019), individual ERC grants (Advanced, Consolidator, Starting, and Synergy), DFG awards, and the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung and Volkswagen Foundation. Following the expiration of the Excellence Strategy envelope in June 2025, the cluster's continued operation is being sustained through successor funding mechanisms including the DFG Research Training Group "BioBuild" (approved November 2025) and a €10M ERC Synergy Grant to Stefan Glunz (November 2025).

Name

Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)

Legal name

Exzellenzcluster livMatS an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Website

https://livmats.uni-freiburg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

livMatS is a publicly funded University of Freiburg Cluster of Excellence developing bioinspired, energy-autonomous, self-healing materials systems for academic research and industry technology transfer, with no commercial revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioinspired Materials Research

NAICS

Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (32522)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMANANAH

Sustainable Additives & Plasticizers (bio-plasticizers, stabilizers, compatibilizers)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing/Bioplastics & Sustainable Materials

Keywords

• Bioinspired materials research
• Adaptive materials systems
• Energy-autonomous materials
• Biomimetic engineering research
• Self-healing materials science

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

livMatS is a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg that develops bioinspired, life-like materials systems combining principles from nature with engineering. Its research outputs include adaptive shading systems (Solar Gate, FlectoLine), photosupercapacitors, protein-based artificial muscles, 3D-printed pneumatic modules for soft robots, and nanopaper materials. The cluster does not sell commercial products; instead it delivers research demonstrators, peer-reviewed publications, and technology-transfer collaborations for applications in sustainable construction, soft robotics, prosthetics, and energy technologies.

Product overview

livMatS is a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg focused on developing bioinspired materials systems. Rather than a commercial product company, livMatS produces research demonstrators and scientific developments including the livMatS Pavilion (a robotically wound flax fiber structure), the Solar Gate and FlectoLine shading systems (energy-autonomous building facades inspired by pine cones), artificial muscles made from proteins, photosupercapacitors, and wafer-thin nanopaper materials. These research outputs demonstrate adaptive, energy-autonomous, and self-healing material capabilities for applications in soft robotics, sustainable construction, and energy technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• livMatS Pavilion A robotically wound natural fiber pavilion made of flax fibers located in the Botanical Garden of the University of Freiburg, serving as a research demonstrator for bioinspired sustainable construction and robotically manufactured timber and natural fiber building techniques.
• Solar Gate Shading System An energy-autonomous facade system inspired by pine cones that passively adapts to weather conditions to regulate climate inside buildings without requiring additional energy supply.
• FlectoLine Shading System A weather-responsive adaptive shading system installed at the Freiburg Botanical Garden demonstrating sustainable built environment solutions, awarded the Special Prize for Bionic Energy Transition Innovation.
• Artificial Muscles (Protein-based) The first material made of natural proteins that contracts autonomously, developed for potential use in soft robotics and medical applications.
• Photosupercapacitor A monolithically integrated photo battery using organic active materials that generates, converts, and stores energy in a compact system, developed with an integrated silicon solar cell.
• Wafer-thin Nanopaper A bioinspired cellulose nanofibril material that changes from firm to soft at the touch of a button, controllable by electricity.
• 3D-Printed Pneumatic Logic Modules 3D-printed pneumatic modules that replace electric controls in soft robots, using only air pressure to control movements without electronic components.
• Biohybrid Robot for Reforestation A biohybrid robot that accommodates natural seeds from different plants, using flour and oats as components, serving as a biodegradable vector for reforestation.
• Biomimetic Shell @ FIT A research building shell at the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies where scientists from Freiburg and Stuttgart research sustainable materials and construction methods using robotically wound natural fibers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2019Long-term research cooperation on functional, interactive and bioinspired materials. Joint establishment of LiMC² (Living Materials Center for Collaboration) for sustainable materials research with seed grants program and exchange programs.
• University of StuttgartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on bioinspired materials including the livMatS Pavilion project. Joint development of robotically manufactured timber construction and adaptive shading systems.
• FestominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Bionic Turtle Walker project - a turtle-inspired walking robot. livMatS contributed pneumatic logic module technology.
• CIBSS - Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-established Cluster of Excellence at University of Freiburg with shared funding from German Excellence Strategy. Both clusters part of University of Freiburg's profile fields.
• Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and EpigeneticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner contributing to signaling research integration with materials science.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ETH Zurich – Department of Materials: ETH Zurich's materials science department is among Europe's leading research centers in adaptive, functional, and sustainable materials. It is comparable to livMatS in academic quality and research scope, with a broader commercial translation pathway through ETH's startup ecosystem.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM): Fraunhofer IFAM is one of Europe's largest applied research organizations in materials science, focusing on adaptive materials, polymer technologies, and bio-inspired manufacturing. It is comparable to livMatS in research scope but operates with a much larger industrial translation mandate.
• Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (Harvard): Wyss Institute is the leading bioinspired engineering research institute globally, focused on developing materials, robots, and devices inspired by nature. It is highly comparable to livMatS in mission, scale, and research areas (soft robotics, adaptive materials, energy harvesting), though it operates with significantly larger funding and broader commercialization infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Penn State Materials Research Institute: Penn State's Materials Research Institute is livMatS's primary international research partner through the joint LiMC² center, with comparable focus areas in functional, interactive, and bioinspired materials. Both institutes share seed-grant programs and exchange initiatives.
• Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM, Heidelberg University): IMSEAM is a Heidelberg University research cluster with overlapping focus on molecular engineering, adaptive systems, and bioinspired materials. It is comparable in scale and academic positioning to livMatS as a German university-led materials systems research entity.
• Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces focuses on self-assembling and adaptive materials, polymer chemistry, and bioinspired interfaces. It is directly comparable to livMatS's research areas on self-assembling materials, polymer chemistry, and bioinspired systems, and operates at a similar scale as a publicly-funded German research institute.
• CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (University of Freiburg): CIBSS is the sister Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, also funded through the German Excellence Strategy starting January 2019, sharing the ~€50M total allocation with livMatS. It operates in a complementary research area (biological signalling) and is explicitly co-located within the same institutional profile fields.

Regional players

• Festo (Bionic Learning Network): Festo is an industrial automation company that has collaborated with livMatS on the Bionic Turtle Walker project. Its Bionic Learning Network develops bioinspired robotics and pneumatic systems and is a comparable applied-research partner, though from an industry perspective rather than academic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/livMatS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livmats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)