More Than One Million Euros for New Leibniz ScienceCampus Rostock-Greifswald

Institute of Biochemistry - Photo: Kilian Dorner
Institute of Biochemistry - Photo: Kilian Dorner

At the beginning of April 2019, the Leibniz Association selected six new Leibniz ScienceCampi from all over Germany for funding. The Leibniz Institute for Catalysis at the University of Rostock (LIKAT), together with the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald and the Universities of Greifswald and Rostock were successful in their bid to gain the Science Campus ComBiCat for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The researchers involved in the project will search for a solution to one of the largest challenges of society: the transformation of fossil fuels into renewable raw materials for use in the production of chemicals and fuels. Catalysis shall serve as the key technology for achieving this.

The Campi ‘enable a collaborative and transdisciplinary approach to topics of particular social relevance,’ says Matthias Kleiner, President of the Leibniz Association.

The merging of the expertise of four top-flight science locations in the northeast of Germany shall create a world-class research collaboration. The collaboration of these four partner institutions is essential for covering all of the catalysis disciplines that are required for solving this important social problem. By combining the expertise in bio-, chemo- and photocatalysis, innovative plasma-based catalysis and process engineering, ComBiCat aims to develop catalyst systems for the sustainable production of chemicals and energy. At the same time, the project plans to develop ideas to convert waste materials into high-quality chemical products.

‘We have set ourselves three goals: the use of sustainable raw materials for the clean catalytic production of fuels and chemicals that play a key role in our daily lives; a holistic approach for the exploitation of biomass that has been previously inaccessible; and last, but not least, the creation of an interdisciplinary training platform, which shall produce a new generation of researchers who are in a position to think beyond the boundaries of their disciplines,’ says Prof. Paul Kamer, Head of Department at LIKAT and spokesperson of the ScienceCampus CombiCat.

Prof. Uwe Bornscheuer from the University of Greifswald’s Institute of Biochemistry explains: ‘I am thrilled that the ComBiCat Campus shall consolidate the long-standing contact to LIKAT and the University of Rostock’s Institute of Chemistry to enable investigations into interesting scientific questions, backed by solid financial support.’

The ComBiCat ScienceCampus is to be funded for a period of four years by the Leibniz Association and the partner institutions with total funds of € 1,132,800. 12 doctoral students will be trained as part of the project.

Further Information
This media release was approved by all of the partner institutions.
 

Media Contact for this Media Release
Dr. Sandra Hinze
Leibniz Institute for Catalysis
Tel.: +49 381 1281 279
Sandra.Hinzecatalysisde
www.catalysis.de/en/home

Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Uwe Bornscheuer
Institute of Biochemistry
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 4, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4367
uwe.bornscheuer@uni-greifswald.de 
​​​​​​biotech.uni-greifswald.de

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