Last week, representatives of chemistry-specific technology transfer ecosystems, such as Carolina Wolters Soto and Martin Rahmel from greenCHEM, discussed with Green Party members of the Bundestag how to bridge the gap between excellent chemical research and genuine innovation. The focus was on greenCHEM’s discussion paper “GO-Chem” and the question of how technology transfer in the chemical sector can be specifically strengthened. The chemical industry is of vital importance for a climate-neutral and sustainable economy. Whilst Germany has the necessary research infrastructure, translating research into practical applications remains a major challenge. The experts noted that this step requires dedicated transfer teams, transfer-specific chemical laboratories and infrastructure, as well as funding programmes. greenCHEM’s discussion paper outlines what a specific funding programme for transfer teams in the chemical sector might look like. One thing is clear, however: a successful transformation can only take place if science, politics and industry work together.

Berlin has reached a new record high with 429 newly founded start-ups in the first half of 2026. This represents a 21 per cent increase compared with the second half of 2025. However, there is no time to rest on these figures, as Germany’s major cities are also catching up. New companies are constantly emerging in Munich, Hamburg and Cologne, and university cities in particular – such as Aachen, Potsdam and Heidelberg – are experiencing a boom. Berlin’s success is largely driven by the close collaboration between Berlin’s universities and the Charité through the Berlin University Alliance, which enables research innovations to be directly translated into start-up activities.

Der Beitrag Week 28: Bundestag meets Chemical Industry, 429 Berlin Startups within first Half of Year erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Have you ever heard of the “12 Principles of Green Chemistry”?
In the 1990s, these were established by chemists John Warner and Paul Anastas, and they describe the sector’s holistic, interdisciplinary approach. These include:

1. Waste prevention
2. Avoidance of by-products (atom economy)
3. Carrying out syntheses with less hazardous substances
4. Production of the safest and most environmentally friendly chemicals possible
5. Use of environmentally friendly solvents and auxiliary substances
6. Use of energy-efficient processes
7. Use of renewable raw materials
8. Avoidance of derivatives as intermediates in syntheses
9. Use of catalysts
10. Production of biodegradable substances
11. Use of process analytics for continuous monitoring of syntheses
12. Accident prevention

In addition, these principles can be assigned to five objectives of Green Chemistry:

Sources: Grüne Chemie | Bedeutung | Umweltbundesamt

More articles on green chemistry:

Der Beitrag Principles and goals of green chemistry erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Level Nine, a Berlin-based start-up founded by Emily Sheridan and Seadna Quigley, aims to change this trajectory. Emerging from the Humboldt-Innovation ecosystem, Level Nine develops specialized synthetic catalysts that could be transformative for a more sustainable chemical industry. These catalysts, known as nanozymes, emulate the functions of natural enzymes and can drive clean, efficient chemical reactions. With these catalysts, chemical firms can reduce – and potentially eliminate – their dependence on fossil fuels.

We spoke with Level Nine to learn more about their background, motivations, the role Humboldt-Innovation has played in their journey. We also discussed the significance of greener chemical industry and their perspectives on fostering innovation within the sector.

We’re a Berlin-based deep-tech company working on synthetic catalysts called nanozymes that mimic nature’s most efficient molecular machines: enzymes. As such, Level Nine sits at the intersection of where innovative chemistry meets the possibility to unlock a new era of manufacturing. To understand our technology, its history must first be understood; nature has spent billions of years perfecting chemical reactions through enzymes, but these biological catalysts are frustratingly fragile and expensive to work for industry. So, we asked ourselves, what if we could capture their precision and efficiency in more robust, synthetic structures?

This venture means we’re not just tweaking existing industrial processes, we’re fundamentally reimagining how chemical reactions can happen. Using insights from computational chemistry and bio-nanoscience, we build catalysts from the ground up that are designed for both industrial performance and environmental responsibility.

Founders Seadna Quigley (CEO) and Emily Sheridan (CTO) (c) Level Nine

Level Nine was founded by Emily Sheridan (CTO), a recipient of the Women in Tech EU award and a PhD in Bio-Nanoscience from a globally leading institution, alongside Seadna Quigley (CEO), who has a proven track record of scaling impactful bioeconomy ventures such as Metabolic and Fresh Ventures.

What began as a research project into bio-inspired catalysis quickly evolved into a commercial venture as we realized the industrial potential of our work. Though explored in academic circles, we saw that nanozymes had never been translated into a robust, scalable platform for real-world chemical manufacturing.

With a blend of scientific rigour, entrepreneurial experience, and a deep understanding of industrial challenges, our two founders set out to build the world’s first company capable of deploying synthetic enzyme-like catalysts at commercial scale, which became Level Nine.

How did Humboldt-Innovation support Level Nine?
Through access to Humboldt’s extensive research ecosystem and expert network, we were able to sharpen our scientific foundations while exploring commercialization pathways in a structured, supportive environment. Their backing also helped us secure key partnerships and credibility in the Berlin innovation ecosystem that accelerated our transition beyond the lab bench.
Whilst operating in a city renowned for its scientific excellence and startup dynamism, working alongside Humboldt-Innovation served as a bridge that helped us take our breakthrough research to the next level.

Their belief in our mission, especially during our very early stages, provided a confidence that affirmed the broader relevance of our work, and their support has continued to bolster our visibility and strategic development. In the early days, when you’re trying to convince investors and industry partners that your technology can work at scale, having Humboldt-Innovation’s backing sends a powerful signal.

Lab work (c) Level Nine

Our mission is straightforward but ambitious: we want to help the chemical industry become part of the climate solution instead of the climate problem. Right now, global chemistry is responsible for massive carbon emissions (over 3 gigatons of CO₂ annually). As a society there is a great dependency upon this industry, from pharmaceuticals and materials, to food production and fuels. We can’t just shut it down, we need to transform it.

That’s where our nanozymes come in. By developing catalysts that can drive clean, efficient chemical reactions, we’re giving companies the tools they need to move away from fossil-based processes without sacrificing performance or profitability. But our mission goes beyond just reducing emissions. We’re working toward a future where chemical manufacturing is decentralized, circular, and built around renewable feedstocks. Imagine chemical plants powered by agricultural waste instead of petroleum, or supply chains that regenerate resources instead of depleting them. That’s the transformation we’re trying to catalyze, literally and figuratively.

The chemical industry is everywhere, but its influence is easy to underestimate. The plastics in your phone, the fertilizers that grow your food, the medicines that keep you healthy: they all start with chemical processes. The industry touches virtually every aspect of modern life.
The problem is that most of these processes were developed decades ago when climate change wasn’t considered as urgently as it is today. The industry remains energy-intensive, heavily reliant upon fossil fuels, and produces enormous amounts of emissions – over 3 gigatons of CO₂ emissions per year, making it one of the largest contributors to global climate change. Now, as we race toward net-zero targets, chemistry has become one of the hardest and most-urgent sectors to decarbonize.

What excites us is the potential for positive impact. If we can unlock the potential of green chemistry, we don’t just reduce emissions but also enable entirely new ways of making things. We can turn agricultural waste into valuable chemicals, create materials that are designed for circularity from day one, and build manufacturing systems that actually strengthen rural economies. The urgency is real, but so is the opportunity. At Level Nine, we believe that by reinventing the very catalysts that drive chemical reactions, we can trigger a systemic change across the industry and transform it from a major emitter into a cornerstone of a regenerative economy.

To us, innovation is the art and science of bridging what is possible with what is needed. It is about turning knowledge into solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also socially and environmentally relevant. In our field, innovation means taking abstract scientific concepts and translating them into tangible tools that solve industrial-scale problems; we spend a lot of time thinking about molecules that don’t exist yet, and then figuring out how to make them do exactly what we need them to do. To us, transforming concepts into reality is innovation in its purest form. It’s a process that requires courage, creativity, and collaboration. Innovation begins in the lab, but it must be validated in the real world and ultimately deliver impact that can be felt across markets and ecosystems.

Crucially, we see innovation as an iterative journey, not a destination. It’s about continually asking: how can we do this better, cleaner, faster, or more fairly? At Level Nine, innovation is built into our workflows, our culture, and our partnerships. It is the driving force behind every molecule we design and every solution we deploy. What keeps us going is knowing that every breakthrough in the lab gets us closer to catalysts that could transform entire supply chains. Innovation means staying curious, staying persistent, and never losing sight of the bigger picture.

In the chemical industry, innovation is not optional – it is existential. As one of the most resource-and energy-intensive sectors globally, chemistry faces mounting pressure to evolve. Whether it’s reducing greenhouse gas emissions, replacing toxic reagents, or securing alternative feedstocks, innovation is the only path forward. Historically, much of the industry’s innovation has been incremental, whether optimizing existing processes or improving yields. But now the equation has changed. Companies need to hit sustainability targets, regulatory requirements are tightening, and customers are demanding cleaner products. Suddenly, incremental innovation isn’t enough and the challenges of the 21st century demand a step change: radical innovation that reimagines the fundamentals of chemical synthesis and production.

This is precisely where Level Nine operates. By introducing synthetic catalysts that emulate enzymes, we offer a new framework for chemical reactions that is inherently more selective, efficient, and sustainable. Our nanozyme technology is a perfect example of innovation meeting necessity: it not only outperforms traditional catalysts, but also addresses critical supply chain and sustainability challenges. The beautiful thing about working in such a foundational technology is the ripple effect. When you improve the catalysts that drive chemical reactions, you potentially improve every process that uses those reactions. A single breakthrough in our lab could influence how bio-based materials are produced or how renewable feedstocks are processed.

Der Beitrag Level Nine Nanozymes spark green chemistry erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

In March 2024, the initiative greenCHEM has celebrated its brand launch. greenCHEM aims to make the chemical industry more sustainable and eco-friendly. It has been four years that industrial engineer Martin Rahmel is the CEO of the Chemical Invention Factory. Now, he is also co-ordinator of the greenCHEM consortium. In an interview, we spoke with him about his path towards chemistry, the role of chemistry for the industry, greenCHEM and its advantages as well as other interesting topics.

My father inspired me to get into chemistry. He studied chemistry at TU Berlin, did his PhD and was chief production manager at Schering in the end. I can remember my first chemistry lecture very well. I was very nervous and excited. I wanted to know more about chemistry. And the oxygenhydrogen reaction is a lasting memory of mine. Luckily, I did not get a tinnitus.

Chemistry fascinates because it is the science of material change. You add A to B and something new comes into being, a new material. And the diversity of creating such new materials is endless.

My main motivation is the topic of sustainability. Professionally as well as in my private life. In private, I am First Chairman of a registered nature conservation association for sustainable, near-natural river ecosystems. Professionally, I also deal with ecosystems, but those are ecosystems of innovation in the field of green chemistry. That is my passion, that is my motivation: Bringing new sustainable materials on the market with the help of green chemistry is just amazing.

I think there are problems in several sectors with regard to the topic of innovation for sustainability. There are interesting studies that prove that we have multiplied the number of researchers within the last 30 years, but the impact on economy is missing. The chemical industry is no exception here. When we look at the causes, we can find that those are not only the industry, the researchers or the state. It is a multifactoral problem. However, with regard to the chemical industry, it must first be noted that this industry has always played a kind of latecomer role due to long development cycles and high capital intensity. This can be regarded as a disadvantage or as an advantage and I am a person who is very optimistic. So, I consider it as an advantage, since we can learn from other industries and do a better job. At this point, one can find specific circumstances that are very challenging at the moment such as the linear logic of the economy we want to transfer into a recyclable one, changing the whole basis of ressources that are fossil up to 87% into renewable, biogenic carbon sources and lastly, the mitigation of toxic substances.

If we success to do that, we are able to build a new chemical industry to which innovations are essential. That is what we stand for.

greenCHEM is a joint project by TU Berlin, Free University and Humboldt-University that is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education. The goal is to create a specific transfer space. This sounds relatively cryptic. To put it simply: We are the innovation ecosystem for green chemistry. We are united by our guiding principle, namely to unfold sustainability impact of green chemistry through optimized transfer.

The vision of greenCHEM is actually very simple: We aim to be the European innovation ecosystem for green chemistry. So, when some scientist in Europe or somewhere else has a realization, a research result, then there must be the question: Where do I have to go? Where do I get the help to unfold this potential in the fastest and best way possible? This is exactly the place we want to be.

Our next steps depend on what it takes to become this place. These are two central topics in the end: The first topic is the infrastructure. In chemistry, we need the appropriate infrastructure in the form of laboratories and analytics, from basic research to production, and this is exactly what we provide in a unique way in greenCHEM.

From infrastructure for basic research such as the “Center for the Science of Materials Berlin” at Humboldt-University that we are intentionally keeping open, also for technology transfer and startup-teams, to the Chemical Invention Factory at the TU Berlin or Scaleup-Lab where we conduct reactions up to 150 liters at the Free University.

The whole thing is rounded off in cooperation, for example with Brandenburg, where we will provide space for pre-production for so-called pilot plant scales with the Startup Lab in Schwedt. That is the first factor, the infrastructure, the hardware.

There is also a very essential, soft factor: the ecosystem. And this is exactly what we are creating with greenCHEM by binding partners to us and creating them around us in order to achieve a diverse ecosystem for joint success in the innovations of green chemistry.

I think, we all accept and understand the “Why”. The “Why do we have to integrate sustainability in our agency?”. Also the “What” is accepted: “What do we have to do to live sustainability?”. But in chemistry, the main question is now: How do we implement it? Exactly to this, the 12 principles of green chemistry respond. They give chemists examples and guidance on how they can reinvent chemistry in order to realize the “why” and the “what” and to design sustainable products and procedures.

Let’s be honest: We are facing an enormous transformation of the chemical industry. Correspondingly, it takes all players to implement successful transfer. That is why we as greenCHEM have identified five target areas where we will become active together with the stakeholder groups behind it. In accordance with the five target areas, we have different offers of how we get into interaction. It ranges from teaching and research to create transfer from the universitary perspective to collaboration with the industry in the fields of innovation and advanced training as well as societal dialogue. All this, you find on our homepage and we would be very pleased if you subscribe to our newsletter.

There is a broad variety of examples of innovations that come from green chemistry. We alone have fourty different technology transfer- and startup-teams that are already selling their innovations or on the verge of doing that. When you look at the variety it reflects such of the chemical industry. It ranges from applications for lacquers, underwater boats to heat and energy storage materials in general, packaging materials etc.. In the end, every chemically manufactured product needs innovation and deserves innovation.

Ultimately, there are three central merits of such a compound innovation ecosystem: Firstly, complementarity. I think on the basis of the infrastructure it could be recognized quite well that we as a composite create a whole that provides for necessary infrastructure through all technological development stages. The second huge advantage is the critical mass. In compound, the three universities are able to set the critical mass of students and PhD candidates in chemistry. Lastly, variety which I have learned from natural ecosystems: The variety we cover across the three universities, the inspiring people. Conflating the diversity of these people is certainly challenging, but also accompanied by enormous potentials.

All in all, I can say of course that it is a huge privilege for us to work with such outstanding scientists in chemistry from three universities in Berlin. Where do you get such a diversity? I am definitely very grateful.

This strongly depends on the background you have. I can recommend students for instance to attend to our course offerings. Outstanding is certainly the “Micro Credential Sustainble Entrepreneurship”. If you are a PhD candidate, doctorate or Post-doc, I can recommend several event series where you dive into the innovation ecosystem. This also deems for professors. Just reach out to us if you have research results that could have impact potential. You can find us on our homepage www.greenchem.berlin where we also offer our newsletter so that you are always up-to-date.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Der Beitrag greenCHEM and necessary change in the chemical industry – Interview with Martin Rahmel erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.