The chemical industry is facing a major transformation: away from petroleum-based, energy-intensive production towards sustainable, innovative solutions! Berlin has the potential to become a global center for green chemistry. The German capital is to become for green chemistry what Boston is for the pharmaceutical industry, namely the global center.
A current article in the Berliner Morgenpost highlights this topic with State Secretary for Science Dr. Henry Marx and Prof. Dr. Stephan Völker, vice president for research of Technische Universität Berlin. They explain why Berlin has the perfect conditions to drive sustainable innovation in chemistry. The article by Joachim Fahrun was published on January 27: Grüne Chemie soll Berlins nächstes großes Ding werden
Interesting: In the green chemistry scene, it tends to be seen as an advantage that no chemical industry has been established in Berlin to date. The established companies are said to be overwhelmed by the change.
UniSysCat has been conducting outstanding research in green chemistry and an extraordinary ecosystem for foundations in the field of green chemistry evolved around it and its precursor cluster UniCat: greenCHEM offers an environment for chemists to turn their research into real-world applications. Moreover, the Chemical Invention Factory is being built with a €20 million investment – featuring 1,000 m² of space and 39 chemical fume hoods – to serve as a central platform for chemical innovations.
A committed and forward-looking green chemistry community is thus establishing in Berlin. State secretary Dr. Henry Marx is convinced: Soon, major chemical companies will source their sustainable solutions from Berlin!