The non-profit Beilstein-Institut is one of the most respected organizations in the communication and dissemination of high-quality information in chemistry. Since 1951, when the foundation was established by the Max Planck Society, we have been fulfilling our mission to support the scientific community by providing high-quality information that is essential for research.

Our role has evolved over the years: from the production of the Beilstein Handbook and Database, to being one of the first open access journal publishers in chemistry, to host of interdisciplinary symposia and supporter of open data initiatives. We believe that free access to scientific research results, giving everyone in the world an equal chance to read and reuse experimental findings and data, is the best way to advance science.

Our two diamond open access journals, the Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry and the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, which we fully fund, have no fees for authors or readers. Both journals are produced and managed by the Beilstein Editorial Office team, who work together with a global scientific network of experts that are responsible for the peer review.

The direct interaction and the exchange of thoughts and ideas between scientists are supported by a program of regularly hosted symposia. These international meetings are organized by the Beilstein-Institut and cover a variety of topics ranging from organic chemistry and biochemistry to nanotechnology and open science as well as interdisciplinary meetings on contemporary topics.

Open science consequently extends the principles of free access publishing. Researchers are encouraged to share their data and make them comprehensively and transparently accessible to others with the aim to effectively generate new knowledge from existing results. The Beilstein-Institut runs two data standards projects, which are now widely accepted and acknowledged by the scientific community.

The foundation finances all its activities itself with funds that are generated by its asset management. It receives no income from the state or third parties. If there is a surplus, it is used to initiate further innovative projects.