Environmental Prize 2025: Researcher and Gelsenkirchen duo honored!

Environmental Prize 2025: Researcher and Gelsenkirchen duo honored!

Yesterday, on October 26, 2025, the German Environmental Prize was awarded in Chemnitz - an award that stands for sustainability and innovative environmental protection. The prize, which has now been awarded for the 33rd time by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), is endowed with 500,000 euros and always attracts well-known prize winners. This year, two outstanding personalities received the honor: the climate researcher Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne and the entrepreneurial duo Lars Baumgurtel and Birgitt Bendiek from the Zinq company.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was personally present to present the awards. Seneviratne, who works as a professor at ETH Zurich and vice president of the IPCC, was recognized for her groundbreaking findings on the interactions between soil moisture, plants and the atmosphere. Her research provides important insights into how these factors affect CO2 uptake, and she warns about rising temperatures caused by dry soils, which can increase heatwaves. “It is crucial that we understand the facts surrounding the climate system,” said DBU General Secretary Alexander Bonde at the award ceremony. This fact-based research is essential for dealing with the climate crisis, Bonde continued. Deutschlandfunk reports that Seneviratne is making a significant contribution to climate and environmental research through her analytical skills.

Innovative process in corrosion protection

But the award winners Lars Baumgurtel and Birgitt Bendiek also bring a breath of fresh air into the industry. Your company Zinq from Gelsenkirchen was honored for the development of the innovative “micro zinc” galvanizing process. This process not only saves 80% of traditional material requirements, but also requires less energy, making it sustainable and economical. The zinc layer that is created is only a tenth as thick as a human hair. Tagesschau highlights that rust in Germany causes economic damage of between 100 and 150 billion euros annually. Zinq's process could not only protect the environment, but also do the economy a great service.

In his speech, Steinmeier emphasized the importance of such innovative approaches because they help to find sustainable solutions to the challenges of climate change. The commitment of these award winners shows that you don't need to make big leaps to make progress in environmental protection - it's often the small steps and the creative use of resources that lead to the goal.

Such important awards as the German Environmental Prize not only recognize outstanding achievements, but also set an example: for a better environment and a sustainable tomorrow. The award winners are an example of how climate policy measures can be both innovative and economical, and they encourage us to continue on the path we have chosen.