FU Berlin Opens New Hub for Sustainable Resource Research
Freie Universität Berlin is taking a bold step toward addressing global resource challenges with the establishment of its new interdisciplinary research center, the Center for Sustainable Resources (CSR|Berlin). According to a press release from FU Berlin, the center will officially open on April 9, 2025, at the university's Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
The CSR|Berlin aims to advance research on sustainable resource extraction and utilization by bringing together expertise from various scientific disciplines and industry partners. "The new center combines scientific expertise from diverse areas of Freie Universität Berlin and additional partners from science and business. The goal is to develop new technologies and strategies that minimize ecological footprints and maximize resource efficiency," explains founding director Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hasenstab-Riedel.
The founding members include chemists Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hasenstab-Riedel and Prof. Dr. Rainer Haag, mineralogist Prof. Dr. Timm John, innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Carsten Dreher from FU Berlin, and Prof. Dr. Anna Gorbushina from the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing.
Their research focuses on resource-conserving chemical processes and technologies for converting waste materials into usable resources. Projects include improving the circular economy of rare earth metals, transforming legacy waste into useful basic chemicals, and developing new water treatment technologies.
The center will build on previous successes, including Hasenstab-Riedel's team's award-winning method for safely storing chlorine in an ionic liquid, which enables energy-efficient handling of chlorine gas with applications in energy management and electronic waste recycling.
With approximately 20 existing initiatives being integrated under one roof, CSR|Berlin represents an ambitious effort to connect scientific discovery with practical solutions for global environmental and resource conflicts.
