100 million Swiss francs for a new research centre

To mark its one hundredth anniversary, the Werner Siemens Foundation launched its “project of the century”—an ideas competition for a WSS Research Centre dedicated to sustainability research. The winning project is “catalaix: Catalysis for a circular economy” at RWTH Aachen University. The prize is a ten-year WSS grant of one hundred million Swiss francs.

Achieving a sustainable use of our planet’s natural resources is probably the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Energy, air, water, food, habitats and raw materials are all limited supplies that must be used and managed with great care. The world of science can—and must—do its part in meeting the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.

In celebrating its centennial anniversary, the Werner Siemens Foundation decided to contribute to sustainability by launching an ideas competition for the establishment of a WSS Research Centre dedicated to researching and developing technologies for the sustainable use of natural resources. The WSS Research Centre will be endowed with one hundred million Swiss francs over a ten-year period.

A total of one hundred and twenty-three teams from Germany, Austria and Switzerland submitted proposals, which the WSS Scientific Advisory Board reviewed in consultation with an interdisciplinary team of experts experienced in the assessment of research projects. A recommendation was then sent to the Foundation Board and the Siemens Family Advisory Board, who selected six ideas and awarded each project team a WSS research prize of one million Swiss francs.

The six prizewinning teams then further elaborated their ideas in detailed concepts for a research centre, which they presented to the WSS governing bodies in December 2023. After careful deliberation, the winning project was selected: “catalaix: Catalysis for a circular economy” led by Professor Regina Palkovits and Professor Jürgen Klankermayer at the RWTH Aachen University Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry.