FIZ Karlsruhe is a not-for-profit organization. Our task is to generate sci-tech information and to make it available to the public. We also provide the related services.Our aim is to support innovation and knowledge transfer in Germany and abroad.

As an international service partner to science and business, we are experts in handling all issues related to information transfer and knowledge management. Our mission is to support and promote science by offering innovative information services.This concept is reflected by our claim "Advancing Science".

Our business segments complement each other with respect to the information offer and usage possibilities:

• Online service STN International
• e-Science solutions KnowEsis and IT services
• Databases and information services

Our customers and target groups are:

• researchers working in research organizations, in academic institutions, and in industry
• Information professionals in information and patent departments of scientific organizations and enterprises
• Information professionals in libraries and data processing centers.

We conduct applied research in close collaboration with academic institutions and research organizations. We examine current research topics, for example scientific data management, information mining and information retrieval. We use the results to develop our innovative products and services.

We also offer professional training and support young scientists. One of our partners is the foundation "Jugend forscht e.V."

In addition to our main activities we develop and operate scientific portals in mathematics, computer science, energy, and crystallography.

For many years, FIZ Karlsruhe has been an important partner in worldwide exchange and collection of information on energy technologies. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) we represent Germany in co-operations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Energy Agency IEA in Paris. The aim of these co-operations is to produce the databases ENERGY (energy and energy technology) and INIS (research and technology for the peaceful use of nuclear energy). The bibliographical databases and alert services related to them are complemented by the information service BINE providing information on the results of research carried out on behalf of the German Federal Government in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. BINE is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).

An important task of FIZ Karlsruhe is to offer information services in the fields of mathematics and computer science. These include ZMATH, the world's most comprehensive maths research database, other products in the fields of statistics and didactics, and the computer science portal io-port.net.

We also produce and make available world-wide the "Inorganic Crystal Structure DAtabase" ICSD, the world's leading database on inorganic crystal structures.

As a member of the Leibniz Association (WGL), FIZ Karlsruhe considers itself a Leibniz institute for information infrastructure.