Berlin Builds Europe's Largest Green Chemistry Lab Hub
Rendering of the Chemical Invention Factory - © sehw Architektur
Berlin is cementing its position as a leading green chemistry innovation center with the groundbreaking of the Chemical Invention Factory (CIF), set to become Europe's largest laboratory infrastructure for startups in sustainable chemistry. According to a press release from TU Berlin, the €20 million facility will provide free workspace for up to twelve early-stage teams developing eco-friendly chemical technologies.
The project, funded by TU Berlin (€13 million) and the Berlin Senate (€7 million), broke ground on September 24, 2025, with a ceremonial start featuring Dr. Ina Czyborra, Berlin's Senator for Science, Health and Care, and Prof. Dr. Geraldine Rauch, President of TU Berlin. The building is expected to be completed by 2027 on TU Berlin's Charlottenburg campus on Marchstraße.
Named after Prof. Dr. John Warner, the founder of the twelve principles of green chemistry, the CIF will house 39 fume hoods and cutting-edge analytical equipment including high-performance liquid chromatographs and gas chromatography-mass spectrometers. The 1,000-square-meter facility will offer secure laboratory spaces to protect intellectual property, plus meeting rooms, a café, and a demo lab showcasing scaled-up prototypes behind glass walls.
The facility addresses a critical need: as Professor Warner notes, roughly 70 percent of technologies needed to transform the chemical industry haven't been invented yet. Germany's chemical industry, the world's third-largest with over €200 billion in revenue, faces increasing pressure to reduce its four percent share of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Pre-seed teams will receive two to four years of free infrastructure support while being integrated into greenCHEM, Berlin's innovation ecosystem connecting chemical companies, universities, research institutions, and startups across Berlin and Brandenburg. Each team will be paired with an "InnoDirector" professor from one of Berlin's three major universities to guide their development.
The Chemical Invention Factory represents Berlin's commitment to sustainable innovation, supporting deep-tech startups in transforming chemistry from petroleum-based processes to renewable resource circular economies.
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