In 2002, Holger Ihssen joined the Helmholtz Office in Brussels in order to increase the participation of Helmholtz research centres in European research programmes and to intensify and expand international contacts and cooperation projects not only in Europe but also worldwide. He holds a doctorate in high-energy physics from the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Ihssen coordinated the secretariat of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and was responsible for the promotion of cooperative research activities in the various research areas of the EERA Joint Programmes. In 2018, he coordinated the large-scale H2020 FET Flagship proposal "Clean Energy" for the development of an Autonomous Materials Development Platform.