Upcoming Events.
greenCHEM x CHARLE Open Innovation Challenge
Open Innovation Challenge
Industry meets green chemistry innovations
Tackle a real challenge from industry
In our Open Innovation Challenge, greenCHEM invites researchers and startups to submit novel, green chemistry solutions to a real-world industry problem. Selected teams receive mentorship from the industry partner and specialists within our ecosystem, as well as access to laboratories and equipment to further develop their technologies for two to six months. After this elaboration phase, teams pitch their ideas to a jury. The winning team receives prize money and may enter a partnership with the industry partner to continue developing their solution.
Our Partner: CHARLE
The Open Innovation Challenge features CHARLE premium haberdashery, a Berlin-based company that has been developing high-quality, circular narrow fabrics for a wide range of applications. Specialized in elastic and non-elastic bands made from natural rubber, organic cotton, linen, and TencelTM, the company pursues environmentally friendly, resource-saving, and socially responsible production methods throughout the entire value chain. With a spirit of innovation and a clear focus on sustainability, the company works to create textile solutions that will also benefit future generations.
The Challenge
CHARLE is looking for a non-fossil-based, biodegradable elastomer that behaves like rubber with raw material sourced in Europe. In other words, they seek a sustainable, biogenic alternative to natural rubber to reduce its upstream CO₂ emissions caused by long-distance logistics and to prevent future supply chain disruptions by being source in the European continent.
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1. What we are looking for at the end of the challenge
We want elastomers based on non-fossil raw materials, able to be sourced in Europe, with the following characteristics:
Potential for biodegradability
Potential for high elasticity
Potential for extrudability
Nice to have:
Very good resilience
High tear resistance
Excellent chemical resistance
High tensile strength
Durability
Thermal stability
2. Possible approaches
Use of food or natural textile waste (natural fibres) or a combination thereof
Plant-based alternatives with low carbon footprint
3. Approaches not of interest
Waste or materials of fossil origin
Alternatives based on Russian dandelion (due to high carbon footprint and land use)
Plant-based alternatives with high carbon footprint
Rewards
Prize: Compete to win a 2.000€ cash prize
Collaboration with Industry: Develop a solution with instant market fit, potentially leading to quicker implementation by CHARLE
Industry Insights: Visit CHARLE’s facilities and receive guidance from mentors with real world experience
Rapid Idea Validation: Use the Challenge to understand and validate the potential of your ideas in a short cycle
Infrastructure & Equipment: Develop, test, and prototype your ideas in laboratories and lab devices made available by greenCHEM
Community: Expand your network and increase the visibility for you and your idea
Timeline
26.11.2025 – Challenge presentation at Industry on Campus
23.01.2026 – Deadline for applications
30.01.2026 – Selection of teams
09.02.2026 – Challenge kick-off and datasheet handover
09.02-03.05.2026 – Elaboration phase*
May 2026 – Pitch Day & Award*
* Dates to be confirmed.
Q&A
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You want to put your ideas to the test and contribute to making the industry more sustainable
You want to expand your network and meet people from industry
You want to do something that matters with your green chemistry skills
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The Challenge is open to researchers and non-incorporated startups motivated to solve material challenges from the industry and able to come to Berlin for certain checkpoints, particularly the Kick-off and the Finale.
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You can find the Terms and Conditions here.
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All information about the IP conditions, you can find here.
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greenCHEM will provide access to lab space and cover the costs associated with that for teams that require it. However, if your team doesn’t need a dedicated lab from greenCHEM, you may work in your current lab. In that case, we can cover some of the costs associated with participating in the challenge, even if we’re not the ones providing the lab.
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No, at the moment of application your solution doesn’t need to have reached any of the established criteria. You only have to explain why is it that your team is confident that your idea could potentially reach the stated material characteristics. Should your team be selected to the second phase of the challenge (the Elaboration Phase), you will have the opportunity to work in the lab and further develop your solution.
The criteria play a bigger role at the end of the challenge. Then they are going to be used to evaluate the solutions presented and help the jury pick a winner. However, even at this point, there will not be hard targets that need to be reached.
And wildcard solutions are always welcome.
More Questions?
Arni, our Open Innovation Manager, is happy to answer your questions.
“Green rubber band ball” by Whoisjohngalt is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Enabling Better Choices: Green Chemistry for Professionals
Enabling Better Choices
Green Chemistry for Professionals
greenCHEM Further Education · Green Chemistry for Professionals
For professionals across sustainability, procurement, risk, and operations who want a clear, accessible introduction to green chemistry.
From core concepts to real-world cases — understand what matters and how to act on it.
A compact, practice-oriented course for industry professionals who make decisions involving materials, sustainability, procurement, risk, or innovation — without needing a chemistry background.
Across industries, green chemistry increasingly shapes regulation, procurement criteria, product development, customer expectations, and risk management. Yet many professionals outside of R&D or technical teams are rarely offered accessible training that explains the fundamentals behind these trends.
This compact online course gives non-chemists in industry a clear, non-technical introduction to green chemistry and its relevance for daily decision-making. Whether you work in operations, procurement, sustainability, product management, compliance, innovation, or engineering, this course helps you recognise where green chemistry affects your business — and how greener decisions can reduce risks and costs while supporting competitive advantage.
Through short expert input, industry-relevant cases, and interactive group exercises, participants build the vocabulary and confidence to assess greener options, ask better questions, and connect chemical concepts to real-world challenges. Each participant leaves with 1–2 concrete follow-up ideas or questions tailored to their own role and organisational context.
Key Benefits
- Understand essential green chemistry concepts in clear, non-technical language.
- Learn structured methods to analyse and frame complex technical, regulatory, market, or ESG-driven problems.
- Connect green chemistry to business performance in industrial settings.
- Ask sharper, more informed questions about materials, hazards, alternatives, or supplier claims.
- Collaborate more effectively with technical teams, R&D, suppliers, and sustainability functions.
- Identify where greener decisions could reduce risk or create value in your products, processes, or policies.
- Upskill quickly: a 2–3 hour online format designed for busy schedules across all industry sectors.
- Leave with actionable takeaways directly applicable to your organisation.
Program
09:00-10:30: Expert-Led Foundations Session
A non-technical introduction to green chemistry and essential chemical concepts.
How chemistry links to regulation, product safety, supply-chain risk, and competitiveness.
Industry examples: substances of concern, safer alternatives, circular materials, cleaner processes.
Simple visuals and structured explanations to build confidence and shared understanding.
10:30-11:25: Interactive Business & Case Exercises
Using short real-world cases from industry and startups.
Identify high-impact opportunities for greener materials or processes.
Compare conventional vs. greener alternatives using simple business-relevant criteria.
Role-play internal decision-making (procurement, sustainability, R&D, management). These exercises help participants ask the right questions and evaluate greener options realistically.
11:25-11:45: Presentation to the group
11:45-12:00: Reflection & Action Session
A structured discussion where participants reflect on insights and identify 1–2 concrete actions relevant to their company, products, or processes. Expert feedback reinforces transfer into daily practice.
Who should register?
This course is designed for industry professionals of all seniority levels who influence decisions related to sustainability, procurement, safety, risk, product development, or operations — with no chemistry background required.
Ideal for:
Sustainability & ESG roles
Procurement & supply chain professionals
Product managers & product development teams
Operations, engineering, and quality management
Regulatory affairs & compliance
Innovation managers and project leads
New employees needing a foundational introduction to green chemistry
Industrial firms without in-house R&D, looking to understand greener options more confidently
Participants come from industries such as manufacturing, automotive, electronics, FMCG, textiles, packaging, logistics, machinery, and beyond.
This basic course can be taken as a stand-alone offering; however, for the best learning outcomes, we recommend also attending the advanced course that follows. The advanced course builds directly on the fundamentals covered here and will take place on 19.3. More information can be found here.
Questions?
Contact our Futher Education Manager Irina
From Insight to Impact: Framing Challenges for Sustainable Innovation
From Insight to Impact
Framing Challenges for Sustainable Innovation
greenCHEM Further Education · Challenge Definition & External Collaboration
For cross-functional industry professionals ready to turn sustainability and green chemistry into concrete innovation topics.
From internal problems to external solutions — frame the right challenges and collaborate effectively.
A hands-on, practice-oriented workshop for industry professionals who want to move from understanding sustainability and green chemistry to clearly framing actionable innovation challenges.
Across the chemical and downstream industries, sustainability goals and green chemistry insights are becoming increasingly concrete and relevant. Many organisations are therefore at a point where the next step is not more knowledge, but clearer structure: how to translate existing insights, ambitions, and ongoing initiatives into focused innovation challenges that can be pursued internally or together with external partners.
This workshop focuses on exactly this transition. Rather than delivering a lecture or developing technical solutions, the course is designed as an interactive working session. Participants learn how to frame the right problems—turning sustainability ambitions, technical questions, and business constraints into clearly defined, actionable challenges using structured, proven methods.
Led by an institutional strategy expert and entrepreneurship educator, the workshop combines short methodological and science-based inputs with hands-on group work and peer feedback. By the end of the day, each participant leaves with a concrete, well-framed challenge that can be taken forward within their organisation or explored further through collaboration.
The course also provides insight into how well-framed challenges can be further developed within the greenCHEM ecosystem, while keeping the main focus firmly on participants’ own takeaways and next steps.
Key Benefits
- Turn sustainability goals and green chemistry insights into concrete, actionable innovation challenges.
- Learn structured methods to analyse and frame complex technical, regulatory, market, or ESG-driven problems.
- Work in an interactive workshop format with immediate application, discussion, and feedback.
- Build a shared language between technical and non-technical roles for more effective collaboration.
- Reduce uncertainty in innovation initiatives by clarifying scope, expectations, and feasibility early on.
- Leave with a tangible result: a well-defined or semi-defined challenge relevant to your own role and organisation.
Program
09:30–09:45 | Welcome & Course Framing
Objectives of the day and expected outcomes.
Positioning of the course within the Further Education Series.
From insight to impact: why challenge framing matters.
09:45–11:00 | Problem Analysis & Challenge Framing Workshop
Interactive introduction to structured methods and simple criteria for identifying, analysing, and framing real-world problems as innovation challenges (technical, regulatory, market, ESG, organisational).
Short inputs and illustrative examples showing how technical and non-technical perspectives approach challenge framing (using internal best practices or adapted/simulated examples where needed).
Immediate application of frameworks to real or realistic cases from participants’ organisational contexts.
Guided group work and peer feedback in mixed teams to iteratively refine challenge articulation.
11:00–12:00 | Interactive Workshop I: Analysing Real Problems
Deepening problem analysis and clarifying assumptions.
Identifying drivers, constraints, and objectives.
Peer exchange across roles and backgrounds.
This session is explicitly designed as a hands-on workshop, not a lecture.
12:00–12:45 | Lunch Break
12:45–14:00 | Interactive Workshop II: Challenge Statement Development
Drafting structured, actionable challenge statements.
Defining scope, success criteria, and collaboration needs.
Iterative refinement with expert and peer feedback.
14:00–15:00 | Collaboration, Risk & Next Steps
Exploring options for internal and external collaboration.
Practical discussion of feasibility, risk, and evaluation criteria.
Short introduction to greenCHEM and its challenge-based formats as one possible pathway.
15:00–15:30 | Reflection & Takeaways
Presentation of drafted or semi-final challenge statements.
Reflection on learnings and individual next steps.
Course wrap-up and feedback.
15:30–16:00 | Networking & Refreshments
Who should register?
This workshop is designed for cross-functional industry professionals who want to move from understanding sustainability and green chemistry to actively shaping innovation topics.
Ideal for:
R&D and technical managers
Sustainability & ESG professionals
Innovation and transformation leads
Product and process owners
Procurement and supplier innovation roles
Participants of Course A or B who want to move from understanding to action
Participants typically come from following sectors: manufacturing, chemistry, automotive, packaging, electronics, FMCG, and related sectors. Other sectors are also welcome.
This course can be taken as a stand-alone offering; however, it is especially recommended for participants who have completed one of the basic courses (“Scale-Up in Chemistry - From Flask to Factory” or “Enabling Better Choices”) . The Basic Course for Non-Chemists - Enabling Better Choices, is taking place on March 9, provides an excellent foundation and will help participants gain even more value from this course. More information can be found here.
Industry on Campus
Industry on Campus
@Transfer Week 2025
The flagship event for open innovation in the chemical industry
Join us for the upcoming greenCHEM Industry Event "Industry on Campus" as part of Transfer Week 2025—where business meets science to drive the green chemistry transformation!
Here’s what to expect:
Program
In the morning we offer a further education course for SME’s about the topic Scale-Up in Chemistry - From Flask to Factory at the same location. Industry representives are invited to register for this opportunity aswell.
Who should register?
Industry on campus focusses on bringing Phds and Post-docs in contact with the industry. We especially invite SMEs and Startups to join.
Impressions from previous years:
Scale-Up in Chemistry - From Flask to Factory
Scale-Up in Chemistry
From Flask to Factory: an executve education course
Learn about scale-up for growth, market success, and risk reduction
Scaling up a chemical process can make or break innovation. This compact executive course will talk about actionable strategies for scaling up chemical processes in an industrial context, showcasing how green chemistry can help businesses to stay ahead: reducing costs, minimising risks, and accelerating time-to-market.
Hear directly from a successful startup and leading experts how integrating scaling up with green chemistry concepts can support SMEs with sustainable competitive advantages and stronger business performance. Throughout the morning, several rounds of moderated discussions will invite all participants to share their perspectives, address challenges, and ask questions freely in an open and collaborative atmosphere. This interactive format takes into account your key pain points and real-world experiences so that they are heard and incorporated into the rounds — hopefully leveraging the knowledge and connections needed to accelerate sustainable business growth.
Key Industry Benefits
Boost business performance: process innovation drives sustainable competitive advantage, securing your market position.
De-risk and accelerate scale-up: strategies to lower risks throughout the development pipeline.
Access cutting-edge facilities: see how modern scale-up labs support rapid, flexible, and resource-efficient commercialisation.
Network for growth: exchange with peers, service providers, and technology partners in moderated and open discussion sessions.
Program
10:00 – 10:10 | Welcome & Introduction
10:10 – 10:45 | State-of-the-Art Scale-Up Technologies
Professor Rainer Haag
Best practices, pitfalls, and innovations for green scale-up.
10:45 – 11:25 | Mastering the Scale-Up Process
Professor Kai Licha
Planning campaigns, optimising infrastructure, and balancing sustainability with market needs.
11:25 – 12:00 | From Idea to Reality
Dr. Rhea Machado
Porelio’s Journey: Turning Proof of Concept into Pilot Production.
12:00 – 12:20 | Lab Tour: See the Tools in Action Experience the equipment and pilot systems driving modern, sustainable chemical innovation.
12:20 – 12:30 | Closing Remarks
12:30 – 13:30 | Business Lunch Connect with all participants and presenters to discuss collaboration and strategies for implementing industry-leading green chemistry!
In the evening Industry on Campus will take place at the same location. Don’t miss the chance to register for that aswell!
Who should register?
Chemists, R&D Managers, and Technical Directors from SMEs in the chemical sector - all who are interested in scaling-up your production.