International Young Researchers Visiting KIT Division I: Focus on Sustainability and Green Chemistry

On 9 July 2025, as part of the ‘Post Meeting Programme for Young Scientists’, an international group of young scientists visited the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on a scientific tour of Baden-Württemberg, following the Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau. This year's conference focused on chemistry and sustainability in the context of the circular economy. These topics were also at the focus of the visit to KIT, where innovative approaches to catalysis, thermochemical material conversion, and 'green chemistry' were presented.

The tour began at the Institute of Technical Chemistry (ITC), where the group visited the Carbon Cycle Lab, which is directed by Prof. Dr. Dieter Stapf. There, guests discussed current research issues relating to the chemical recycling of plastic waste with doctoral students from the Plastics Pyrolysis Working Group.

At the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT), Prof. Dr Moritz Wolf and Prof. Dr Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt gave an interesting talk about the importance of catalysis in the transition to sustainable raw materials and energy. The delegation then visited the CAT-ACT beamline at the KIT Light Source (KARA), where they learnt about the importance of catalyst characterisation using X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

The tour concluded with a visit to the Institute of Organic Chemistry, where the group met with Professor Michael A. R. Meier and his research team. In the Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, the participants learnt about new synthesis processes in the context of green chemistry, particularly the sustainable use of renewable resources in polymer chemistry.