A sufficient supply of raw materials enables the development of an economy, whereas an insufficient supply hinders or, in extreme cases, prevents the development of an economy and leads to a reduction in the standard of living. An undersupply of raw materials, for whatever reason, has led both in the past and in the present to conflicts and even armed conflicts. Knowledge of commodity economics is therefore essential for a number of educational disciplines.

The Chair deals with commodity economics topics, with teaching focusing on commodity economics fundamentals [energy commodities, metal commodities, industrial minerals, their genesis, distribution, trade, utilization, industry/environmental relevance, resource scenarios, commodity policy, etc.]. are in the foreground.

The research of the chair is strongly focused on the "upstream" area, i.e. on raw material exploration with geological, petrographic and geophysical methods, the development of prospecting and exploration concepts as well as the further development of exploration methods.

Besides energy resources and mineral resources, the resource water plays an essential role in the research orientation of the chair.

The research work is internationally oriented.