International research into water, catalysis, materials and proteins
Ground-breaking ceremony for the new ACTIVE SITES research building
- von Astrid Bergmeister
- 16.03.2026
On the Essen campus of the University of Duisburg-Essen, the new Thurmfeld Research and Innovation Campus is taking shape. Today’s laying of the foundation stone for the new ACTIVE SITES research building, dedicated to internationally renowned research into water, catalysis, materials and proteins, brings the building’s completion another step closer. ACTIVE SITES is the first construction project that the University of Duisburg-Essen is managing independently as the client. Commissioning is scheduled for 2028.
At the ACTIVE SITES research centre on the Thurmfeld Innovation Campus, the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is bringing together its internationally renowned and interdisciplinary research into water, catalysis, materials and proteins. A particular focus is on the development of state-of-the-art analytical methods and the visualisation of hidden processes in order to investigate chemical or biological reactions under natural, aqueous conditions.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dr Barbara Albert, explains: “The new research centre enables the outstanding natural and engineering sciences to collaborate in a uniquely multidisciplinary way. Scientists from the university’s excellent water and catalysis research programmes, for example, analyse the influence of stressors such as heat and foreign substances on aquatic organisms. With this research centre, the University of Duisburg-Essen is expanding its status as one of Germany’s most successful natural science research institutions and contributing to the competitiveness of North Rhine-Westphalia as a research location.”
Prof. Dr Stephan Barcikowski, scientific spokesperson for ACTIVE SITES, adds: “ACTIVE SITES’ cross-disciplinary and cross-process research approach is unique. Using state-of-the-art large-scale equipment and the latest methods, we analyse processes live and in real time. ACTIVE SITES is about making active centres visible in their natural environment, understanding them and making them technologically usable.”
The building and the laying of the foundation stone
The Chancellor of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Ulf Richter, comments: “For the University of Duisburg-Essen, the five-storey new building with a floor area of 4,850 square metres is the first construction project that the university is managing independently as the client. We are proud of the trust placed in us by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and will demonstrate that this enables us to significantly accelerate the planning and construction process. I would like to thank everyone involved in the Building Management Department and the City of Essen for their commitment and excellent cooperation.” The costs for construction and fit-out, amounting to around 70 million euros, will be shared equally between the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The central element of today’s foundation-laying ceremony is the time capsule, which contains the Genesis text describing the origin of the ACTIVE SITES concept, a laboratory coat sleeve signed by the lead scientists of ACTIVE SITES, a 3D-printed golden flip-flop symbolising the conception of ACTIVE SITES, a scientific sample containing gold nanoparticles, floor plans and elevations, and the front page of a daily newspaper.
Together with Hochtief foreman Wolfgang Schumann, Co-Director Professor Dr Shirley Knauer descended into the excavation pit and lowered the time capsule into the ground.
Sustainable building design by ACTIVE SITES
The project will create open workspaces, laboratories for shared interdisciplinary use, and office and seminar rooms to facilitate intensive exchange among scientists from the natural sciences, life sciences and engineering. A large-scale photovoltaic system on the roof surfaces and on the façade of the technical floor will supply the research centre with electricity. The transport infrastructure is designed for bicycles and cars, with some facilities already pre-equipped with charging points for electric vehicles.
Next steps and completion
Further construction planning is aimed at holding the topping-out ceremony in the first half of 2027. It is expected that from summer 2028, the 125 scientists will begin their interdisciplinary work in the ACTIVE SITES research building.