Germany x Canada : Accelerating Materials Innovation Across Borders
Student Poster and Pitch Competition Registration
As GCMAC’s term comes to an end, our closing conference will be held on 3-5 March 2026 to bring together German and Canadian program funders, administrators, collaborators, researchers, and students to highlight progress and outcomes achieved over the past five years of the program – in the context of accelerating the development, discovery, and deployment of clean energy materials across length scales. The conference will look at where we have come from, and where there are existing opportunities for future program iterations as the momentum of GCMAC is sustained and oriented to new areas of relevance given recent changes and those in the coming years. The tentative schedule for the event is provided below.
Registration starts on November 3rd and will remain open until February 10th, 2026.
| 3 March 2026 | 14:00 – 20:00 | ||
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Registration (*Non-FZJ Personnel – please arrive promptly to allow adequate time for Security & Registration at FZJ Security Desk) | |
| Geb. 15.3 Room 3105 | Session 1-1 | |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Final Advisory Board Wrap-up Meeting (by invite-only) | |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Break | |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | GCMAC Next Steps Strategic Planning Meeting (by invite-only) | |
| FZJ Seecasino | 19:00 | Dinner (by-invite only) |
| 4 March 2026 | 8:00 – 21:00 | ||
| Haupteingang Besucherservice Zentralbibliothek |
8:00 – 9:00 | Registration for non-FZJ personnel
Welcome Coffee |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 2-1: Opening addresses & Keynotes: Acceleration of Scientific Research | |
| 9:00 – 11:45 | Peter Jansens, FZJ
Canadian Embassy Rep, GAC Patrick Ruch, IBM (30 min). |
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| 11:45 – 13:00 | Lunch Student Poster Presentations Industry Booths |
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| Zentralbibliothek | Session 2-2: Energy Materials Experimental Labs – WP2 | |
| 13:00 – 15:30 | Thomas Kirchartz, FZJ (30 min) “Autonomous experimentation and parameter inference in solution processable photovoltaics” Özlem Özcan, BAM (20 min)“Autonomous testing and optimization of advanced electrochemical interfaces” Nicole Jung, KIT (20 min) “tbd” Isidora Cekic-Laskovic, FZJ (20 min) “Accelerated High-Throughput Design and Optimization of Advanced Electrolyte Formulations for Battery Applications” Daniel Persaud, U of T (20 min) “Materials Acceleration Platform for Electrochemistry (MAP-E)” |
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| 15:30 – 16:00 | Break | |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 2-3: Data, AI & Orchestration – WP5 | |
| 16:00-18:15 | Jae Hattrick-Simpers, U of T (30 min) “Small Smart Data >> Big Dumb Data and Models Don’t Extrapolate ”Stefan Sandfeld, FZJ (30 min) “tbd” Jenia Jitsev, FZJ (20 min) “Open foundation models: reproducible science of strongly scalable transferable learning ”Thomas Ackerstaller, FZJ (20 min) “From Catalyst Powder to Coating – Robotic Lab, Complex Routines, Next: AI Agentic Control” Nasrin Mohammadi, FZJ (20 min) “Agentic Recommendation System for Energy Materials” |
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| 18:15 – 19:15 | Student Pitch Session | |
| FZJ Seecasino | 19:30 | Group Dinner |
| 21:00 | Bus transfer FZJ to Aachen | |
| 5 March 2026 | 8:00 – 21:00 | ||
| Haupteingang Besucherservice Zentralbibliothek |
8:00 – 9:00 | Registration for non-FZJ personnel
Welcome Coffee |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 3-1: Energy Materials Modelling, Simulation Labs – WP1 | |
| 9:00 – 11:00 | Padraic Foley, AC (30 min) “tbd” Marc Secanell, U of A (20 min) “Computational Multiscale Analysis of Electrochemical Devices: Integrating New Materials from Porous Electrodes to Cells ”Tobias Binninger, FZJ (20 min) “Oxygen evolution catalysis: From basic understanding of benchmark catalysts to descriptor-based catalyst screening” Katarina Kretschmer, FZJ (20 min) “Orbital Overlap and Crystal Field Effects in Metal-Oxygen Bonds of Rutile Oxides for Oxygen Evolution Catalysis” |
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| 11:00 – 11:30 | Break | |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 3-2: Energy Materials Characterization – WP4 | |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Andreas Gluesen, FZJ (30 min) “TBD” Karol Gotkowski, Helmholtz Imaging (20 min) Jasna Jankovic, UConn |
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| 12:30 – 14:00 | LunchStudent Poster PresentationsIndustry Booths | |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 3-2 cont’d: | |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Simon Thiele, FZJ (30 min) “Central results from the project HyThroughGen – Experimental high throughput experiments for the production of water electrolysers” Andre Karl, IET-1, FZJ (20 min) “Advanced characterization workflows for de-risking industrially relevant PEM electrolysis” Aimy Bazylak, U of T, (20 min) “Operando imaging and porous media characterization toward improved materials and interfaces” Mehrtoos Eslamibidgoli, FZJ (20 min)“tbc” |
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| 16:00-16:30 | Break | |
| Zentralbibliothek | Session 3-3: AI-Informed Materials Simulation – WP3 | |
| 16:30 – 17:50 | Dustin Vivod, FZJ (20 min) “Tackling simulations of ionomers with machine learned potentials” Pascal Friederich, KIT (20 min) “AI for Self-Driving Labs – New Approaches and Open Challenges” Van-Quan Vuong, KIT (20 min) “Estimating the Reliability of High-Level QM MLIP Predictions from Fast-QM MLIP: A Dual MLIP Approach” Fabian Tipp, FZJ (20 min) “Descriptor-Guided Computational Design of Alkaline-Stable Anion Exchange Membranes” |
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| 17:50 | Awards (posters and presentations), Concluding Remarks | |
| 18:30 | Bus transfer FZJ to Aachen Dinner (self-organized) |
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| -End- | ||
Student Poster and Pitch Competition Registration:
Are you a student passionate about materials science, AI, robotics, or modelling-driven research, and accelerating innovation? The German Canadian Materials Acceleration Centre invites students to showcase their ideas at our Student Pitch Competition at the GCMAC Closing Conference.
This is your chance to:
- Present your research or innovative concept to an international audience of experts
- Gain visibility and network with leaders in materials acceleration and AI
- Compete for recognition and prizes
Pitch Session Details:
Date: 4 March 2026 @ 18:00 CET
Format: Each student will have 5 minutes to present their pitch to a panel of judges (in-person only)
Prize:
First Place – €1500
Second Place – €1000
Third Place – €500
Who can apply?
Undergraduate and graduate students in materials science, engineering, data science, or related fields (not restricted to GCMAC-related institutions). There is no cost to participate.
How to apply:
Submit a short abstract (max 200 words) outlining your pitch topic and its relevance to accelerated clean energy materials/materials technology discovery, development, or deployment. Selected participants will be confirmed via email.
Pitch Session Application Deadline: 10 February 2026
Don’t miss this opportunity to share your vision and contribute to shaping the future of accelerated materials discovery!
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Call for Industry Exhibitors
Showcase Your Innovation at Germany Ă— Canada: Accelerating Materials Innovation Across Borders
Are you driving the future of advanced materials, clean technologies, or manufacturing innovation? We’re inviting industry leaders, startups, and technology developers to participate as exhibitors at this binational workshop bringing together top Canadian and German innovators.
This event creates a unique platform for companies to highlight breakthrough technologies, connect with researchers and policymakers, and spark new cross‑border collaborations.
Why Exhibit?
- Engage directly with experts shaping the future of materials innovation
- Build connections with potential partners, customers, and investors
- Demonstrate your technologies, prototypes, or solutions to a highly engaged audience
- Position your organization at the forefront of Canada–Germany innovation efforts
Exhibitor Details
- Event: Germany Ă— Canada: Accelerating Materials Innovation Across Borders
- Date: 4 & 5 March 2025
- Location: Forshungszentrum Juelich, Juelich, Germany
- Booth Includes: Table, power access, and space for displays
- Audience: Industry, academia, government, and innovation networks
- Cost: free!
If your organization is interested in hosting a booth, we encourage you to express your interest early — space is limited.
Join us and help shape the next wave of materials innovation across borders.
