The 2023 report is now available
The latest edition of the WSS report is dedicated to the centennial anniversary of the Werner Siemens Foundation—and the research competition launched to celebrate the occasion. Endowed with one hundred million Swiss francs, the competition aimed to promote the sustainable use of our planet’s resources.
The Werner Siemens Foundation (WSS) funds high-calibre research projects in the natural sciences, life sciences and technology; funded for at least five years, the projects receive generous funding, usually between five and ten million Swiss francs. Details on these endeavours and the progress made over the past year are provided in the recently published report.
In 2023, the Werner Siemens Foundation celebrated its centennial and, to mark the occasion, launched its “project of the century”—an ideas competition for a WSS Research Centre dedicated to researching and developing technologies for the sustainable use of natural resources. The grand prize was a ten-year grant of one hundred million Swiss francs.
The call for projects generated a huge echo in the world of science, with 123 outstanding research teams from Germany, Austria and Switzerland submitting proposals. From this pool, the jury then selected six finalists, all of whom were awarded a WSS research prize of one million Swiss francs. After a second round with the finalists, the “catalaix” project at RWTH Aachen University was selected as the overall winner. The 2023 report takes readers on a virtual visit to the labs in Aachen, providing them with an inside look into how the team led by Regina Palkovits and Jürgen Klankermayer are developing catalysis-driven production technologies to create a circular economy in the chemical industry—with the initial focus on recycling mixed plastic waste.
Another project awarded funding from the WSS Foundation Board in 2023 has begun work at ETH Zurich: civil engineer Ueli Angst has set himself the goal of making the concrete industry more sustainable. In an interview, he explains why the manufacture of reinforced concrete emits enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—and how this could be avoided in future.
Sustainability is also the main focus in several other projects funded by the Foundation, and this work is the main topic of the 2023 report. Readers will learn about new ideas that have the potential to usher in a breakthrough for alternative energy sources—with geothermal energy serving as a prime example. They’ll also discover the innovative concepts in electronics and materials research that may lead to both generating and saving energy. And find out how the highly complex ocean ecosystems react to our warming planet.
All projects financed by the Werner Siemens Foundation are expected to find real-world application in a few years. According to Club of Rome co-president Sandrine Dixson-Declève, this approach is particularly essential in sustainability research. In a wide-ranging interview, she explains why the world of science must leave the ivory tower, and she details what she believes we must do to secure the future of humanity.
The report concludes with updates on nine innovative projects that receive WSS funding. The topics range from cyber security, carbon nanoribbons in quantum technology and microbial substances from the Stone Age, on to artificial muscles, smart implants and bone surgery with a laser robot, while other research explores antiviral agents, regrowing cartilage and medical imaging in cancer diagnostics.
> Download Report 2023
