Can You Restart the Lab That Could Power Our Future?

Step into the role of an emergency research team and enter a futuristic artificial intelligence-powered laboratory where scientists are developing the next generation of sustainable fuels. 

Your mission? Restart the Self-Driving Laboratory (SDL)—a smart research facility that uses automation and artificial intelligence to design and run experiments that accelerate the discovery of better catalysts.

But the clock is ticking. Without new solutions for producing fuels and chemical building blocks from green hydrogen and CO₂, industries such as steel, cement, and chemicals risk returning to fossil fuels. In 60 minutes, you will solve science-based challenges, explore the role of hydrogen, catalysts, and artificial intelligence in future research, and collect the pieces needed to bring the laboratory back online. Work together, make decisions, and experience how scientists of the future could tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet.

This interactive escape room is part of the ASCEND project, which explores new approaches to accelerate scientific discovery through autonomous experimentation and AI-driven research. Designed for curious minds of all backgrounds—no scientific expertise required. Come ready to collaborate, experiment, and discover how the research choices we make today can shape the energy future of tomorrow.