Nordhausen University wins Thuringian research prize for climate project!

Nordhausen University wins Thuringian research prize for climate project!

In a remarkable step for sustainable sewage sludge utilization, Nordhausen University was awarded the Thuringian Research Prize 2025 on November 12, 2025. The team around the two professors Dr. Uta Breuer and Dr. Elmar Hinz received the prize for her pioneering project “CarboMass”, which was carried out from 2021 to 2024. This project, which was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is designed to use municipal sewage sludge using a special pyrolysis method, paired with biomass to cover potash dumps.

The award ceremony was carried out by Christian Tischner, the Thuringian Minister for Education, Science and Culture. The jury, chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Brüggemann, praised the innovative approaches to promoting the circular economy that “CarboMass” brings with it. The research team, consisting of Dr. Anja Schreiber, Lars Behling, Marvin Calderon, Petra Hauschild, Katharina Grzeschniok, Victoria Klages, Jantje Samtleben and Sarah-Rebecca Vollmann can be proud of this recognition of their efforts towards sustainable development.

Sustainable solutions and legal framework conditions

A central goal of the project is the regional circular economy and the local reuse of sewage sludge. However, there is still a lot of work to be done, as the Waste Sewage Sludge Ordinance of 2017 states that from 2032 no soil-based utilization of sewage sludge will be permitted. From 2029 there will be an obligation to recover phosphorus, which poses major challenges for dump operators: They have to cover their dumps in order to protect groundwater.

The idea of ​​using carbonate from pyrolysis plays a key role. It binds valuable phosphorus, which remains available to plants. The mixture of this carbonate and biomass can be used as a cover for potash heaps, which not only supports recultivation but also reduces leachate discharge. This has a positive impact on the carbon footprint and opens doors for regional recycling strategies, which are urgently needed to meet the challenges of the coming years.

Prizes and awards

The Thuringian Research Prize is endowed with 12,500 euros and is intended to be invested in the team's continued work. Curiously, the prize winners share the award with another outstanding research group from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, which each received 12,500 euros. The Max Planck Institute received an additional 25,000 euros for its basic research, which aims to remodel global carbon and water flows.

The developments surrounding sewage sludge recycling are closely linked to the new EU guidelines on phosphorus recovery. The regulatory changes require everyone involved to make adjustments in order to meet the new standards. Given the current circumstances, the “CarboMass” project highlights the obstacles to innovation that are still created by existing circular economy control instruments.

Overall, it should be noted that the project is not only an example of successful research, but also of the necessary collaboration between academic institutions and industry to develop practical and sustainable solutions in waste management.

For further information about the challenges and opportunities in sewage sludge utilization and phosphorus recovery, please visit the pages of euwid-recycling and [Iwu-ev].