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The Volkswagen Foundation has been supporting basic research for decades. Without it, the pipeline for innovation would dry up. Dr Henrike Hartmann, Head of the Funding Division at the Volkswagen Foundation, and microbiologist Professor Dr Tobias Erb discuss why basic research is so important for progress. 

Our magazine IMPULSE 2026 paints a multifaceted picture of basic research: whether at sea, in virtual space or in the laboratory, basic research offers fascinating insights into the unknown. Read the articles on the researchers’ work online, download the magazine as PDF (in German) – or have a printed copy (in German) sent to you free of charge. 

In 2025, the Volkswagen Foundation was once again able to support promising ideas within the German research landscape with a total grant allocation of 310 million euros. Here you will find all the figures, data and facts from our 2025 Annual Report.

Political scientist Daniel Ziblatt, historian Mariana Cândido and legal scholar Russell Miller are receiving funding from the Volkswagen Foundation under the "Transatlantic Bridge Professorships" programme.

The programme is aimed at professors at US universities who are conducting research on the future of democracy, fundamental rights and academic freedom, or the future of transatlantic relations and who would like to work simultaneously in both the USA and Germany for a period of three years. Applications can be submitted at any time, Online Q&A session for host institutions on 25 June (registration required)

Did a volcanic eruption in 1783 shift the tropical rain belt? Old ship’s logs could provide the answer – and also shed light on the future climate for millions of people living around the equator.