Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt

Osnabrück – September 08, 2026 -- The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) has funded a €370,000 project that achieved the first successful shift to bio-based powder coating formulations, cutting the carbon footprint of the coatings by more than 70 percent.

Consortium proves fossil-free powder coatings are technically feasible

The "EcoCoat" project, backed by DBU with roughly €370,000, brought together iLF Magdeburg GmbH, powder coating manufacturer Ganzlin Beschichtungspulver GmbH -- a company with about 70 employees -- and the Core Facility Microscopy and Materials Analysis (CMMA) at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. Dr. Susanne Bender, managing director of iLF Magdeburg, said the results demonstrate that powder coatings can largely be produced without fossil raw materials.

Aachen – September 07, 2026 -- The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) will award its 2026 German Environmental Prize, worth €500,000 in total, to Hamburg environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen and membrane-filter engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul, founder and CEO of Membion. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will present the prize on Sunday, October 25, at a ceremony in Aachen, marking the 34th edition of one of Europe's highest-endowed environmental awards.

Gröningen – September 07, 2026 -- The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is funding a roughly €300,000 renovation of the 17th-century Rittergut Edelhof manor in Gröningen, Saxony-Anhalt, installing one of Germany's first water-ice thermal storage systems in a historic building. The project, underway since late last year, is scheduled for completion by April 2028 and aims to return residential use to a building vacant since the 1990s.

Water-ice storage cuts heating energy demand by up to 50 percent

A heat pump extracts energy from water until it freezes, supplying heat during sub-zero temperatures without large battery storage. Scientific project lead Prof. Dr. Harald Garrecht said this system works alongside a roof-integrated heat-recovery unit that draws warmth from the environment above freezing, together cutting required heating energy by up to 50 percent.