Month: September 2025

On 8 September 2025, the Innovation Congress took place at the EUREF Campus. The Green Economy Network.NRW (KNUW) was also represented with a stand on that day. Prof. Dr. Martin Faulstich, Dr. Ewa Harlacz, Dr. Ulrich Teich and our doctoral students Konstantin Saure, Carina Diemel and Klara Theoabld were in attendance.

The congress was opened with a speech by Minister President Hendrik Wüst, who emphasised the importance of strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia as a location for innovation and start-ups through new ideas and innovations, thereby contributing to the state’s future viability. Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Neubauer and Minister for Science Brandes also addressed the audience.

The NRW Innovation Award 2025 was also presented in recognition of innovation in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Holger Stark (university professor of pharmaceutical and medical chemistry and managing director of the scientific institution Pharmacy at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) won the ‘Innovation’ category, which comes with prize money of €75,000. Together with his team, he developed a new treatment method for glaucoma.

The ‘innovation2business’ category, with prize money of €15,000 twice, was won by Dr. Christian Schwarz (co-founder and managing partner of Numaferm GmbH, Düsseldorf) and Prof. Dr. Lutz Schmitt (Chair of Biochemistry I at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) for the development of a sustainable biological process for the synthesis of proteins and peptides.

The prize for the ‘innovation2market’ category, with prize money of €15,000, was awarded to Dr. Martin Schleef (founder, long-standing managing director and shareholder of PlasmidFactory GmbH, Bielefeld). He succeeded in reducing the size of plasmid DNA so that it can be used in cancer therapy.

The audience award ‘innovation4transformation’, with prize money of €15,000, went to Dr.-Ing. Andreas Bremen (founder and managing director of Co-reactive GmbH, Düsseldorf) for the development of an innovative mineralisation process that converts CO₂ emissions into high-performance additives for cement.

We congratulate all winners and are delighted with the success of the Innovation Congress.

On 5 September 2025, INNOWA GmbH (shareholders DEW21 and EDG Holding GmbH) presented the first construction phases and planned steps for its innovative energy park. The project will be implemented at the Dortmund-Nordorst landfill site. Prof. Dr. Faulstich was also on site for the presentation by INNOWA GmbH.

The initial plan is to install a photovoltaic system with battery storage. The electricity generated by this system will be used to supply 3,000 households with electricity all year round. Later, car and truck charging facilities and a biomethane plant will also be added. The electricity generated in the energy park will then also supply the landfill site’s facilities and vehicles belonging to the EDG group of companies with electricity.

The Energy Park project is a future-oriented, solution-focused model for climate-neutral energy supply in Dortmund and can serve as a blueprint for further projects of this kind.

DEW21, an energy supplier, implemented this project in collaboration with EDG Holding GmbH.

We would like to thank you for the inspiring insights into the Energy Park project and look forward to its successful implementation.