The University of Duisburg-Essen is getting a new center for its internationally recognized water research: The Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Regional Development Fund are funding the FutureWaterCampus. Environment Minister Oliver Krischer presented a grant approval notice for 11.5 million euros today. The new building will be constructed right next to the ACTIVE SITES research facility on Thurmfeld in Essen.

NRW Environment Minister Oliver Krischer emphasizes the importance of the project: "The FutureWaterCampus will further strengthen the internationally successful water research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Here, outstanding scientists work closely with the water management sector, bringing research and practice even closer together.This project provides practical solutions to key challenges facing the water sector and helps implement the state’s water strategy for the future. That is why we are supporting the project with 11.5 million euros."

The FutureWaterCampus is designed as a hub for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. In state-of-the-art biological and chemical laboratories, researchers from the natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences work together with industry partners to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges. The initiative focuses on three key research areas:

• Algae research: The University of Duisburg-Essen houses the world’s largest university algae collection and is an international leader in this field, collaborating with partners such as the University of California, Berkeley.

• Membrane research: As a key technology in modern separation processes, it plays a central role in water treatment as well as in environmental and biotechnology.

• Photocatalysis research: Innovative methods for water purification, such as those using light, are being developed.

The President of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert, emphasizes the societal relevance of this research: “The question of how we manage water as a resource is of vital importance for the future of humanity. Science provides solutions when there is too little, too much, or too polluted water available. With the FutureWaterCampus in Essen, we are creating a shared home and excellent conditions for our multidisciplinary, cutting-edge research with impact.”

The new building, approved by the state government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will create a state-of-the-art infrastructure that closely integrates interdisciplinary research and technological innovation. Funding is provided by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (40 percent), the ERDF (41 percent), and the University of Duisburg-Essen (19 percent from its own funds). Plans include a test facility for large-scale plants, which will facilitate the transfer of research. Plans include a test facility for large-scale plants, which will enable the transfer of research findings from the laboratory to the pilot scale, as well as a think tank and a knowledge hub to strengthen networking and professional development.

“The FutureWaterCampus, located right next to the ACTIVE SITES research building, strengthens both applied and basic water research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. “The physical proximity enables close methodological integration with the catalysis research conducted there under aqueous functional conditions,” says Prof. Dr. Torsten C. Schmidt, Chair of the Center for Water and Environmental Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen.