Students can plan their study schedule individually and can start either in the summer term or in the winter term.

It is recommended to start with a mandatory core module:

Option A: Venture Campus - From idea to business plan (12 ECTS)

Option B: Treasure Hunting (12 ECTS)

Afterwards you can pick two Semi-Mandatory Modules from the list.

In any case, get enrolled in the Entrepreneurship in Green Chemistry course to keep updated.

You have to be enrolled in a chemistry related master study program at one of the BUA universities.

The registration for the Certificate Program is open at any time and requires only your Certificate of Enrollment. Please send the document to hello@greenchem.berlin. Usually within a week or two you will be notified whether you were selected to participate in the program.

The usual duration of the program is two to four semesters. The teaching programme and all examination procedures are structured so that students can complete the programme within the usual study duration.

The Certificate Program “Entrepreneurship in Green Chemistry” comprises 23-24 ECTS, divided into:

    (a) one mandatory module of 12 ECTS

    (b) two semi-mandatory modules of each 5 or 6 ECTS from a list of semi-mandatory modules.

Venture Campus

Treasure Hunting

Green Chemistry

Data Analytics

Life Science Venturing

Entrepreneurship Summer School:
Ask before the SS for more information

Design Thinking for Smart Living & Health

Advanced Recycling Technologies 1

Physics and Chemistry of Sustainability - Renewable Energy (please register by sending an email to Mr. Hutzler)

Since this BUA certificate gives you the possibility to take courses from either FU or TU, it is mandatory (!) for you to register as a BUA-Nebenhörer*in at the university that is not your home institute.

Registration for TU courses

Registration for FU courses

Registration for HU courses

Yes, your credits can count towards your master program. Some modules can be registered as a semi-mandatory module in your master program, and some in your elective area. Please contact your local Exam Office for detailed information regarding your personal study regulations.

Please send your transcript with your grades to the contact person of the Certificate Program. Each year the graduates of the Certificate Program will be celebrated in a graduation ceremony.

You will receive an official BUA Certificate Program which is composed as Microcredential listing in detail the courses you have taken as part of the Certificate Program.

You will have to reach 24 ECTS out of the list of offered courses. If you fail one course, you can substitute it with another course from the list.
It is always recommended to keep the Certificate Program contact person informed of your status and progress throughout the program.

As a Certificate Program student you will be the first to know about interesting events and activities in the field of Green Chemistry and Entrepreneurship, such as the Chemistry Career Talks and Startup Safaris – and you will be guaranteed a place in these events. This will expose you to new ideas, organisations and people and will help you grow your network. It might also open doors to internships, master theses and student jobs.

The Certificate proves that you have acquired knowledge and competencies in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the field of chemistry. This can help you stand out from a pool of applicants for positions in research and industry and improve your chances of getting a desired job. Moreover, the competencies that you gain will help you apply entrepreneurial thinking and acting to your own venture or to any employed position in the future.

1. What we are looking for:

We want solutions that:

• Make captured CO₂ useful in a way that offsets or reduces the cost and energy used to capture it

• Fit the waste-to-energy context — either on-site at the plant or in the surrounding region

• Are scalable and realistic, with potential for circular use of carbon

2. Possible directions - starting points:

You can take the challenge in many directions, for example:

a. Turning CO₂ into products (CCU)

• Building materials – e.g., turning CO₂ into stone-like materials (mineralization)

• Carbon-based products – such as fuels, plastics, or other materials

• Industrial applications – where CO₂ from renewables replaces fossil carbon

b. Creating services

• Carbon credits – systems that reward CO₂ reuse and storage

• Quality checks & certification – ensuring CO₂-based products meet standards

• Data & analytics – tracking and reporting CO₂ usage

c. Storage solutions (CCS)

• Safe and efficient ways to store CO₂ for future use

d. Other ideas

• On-site reuse – for plant processes like pH control, or creating heat or cooling

• Local partnerships – using CO₂ in nearby greenhouses, the food & beverage industry, or for producing synthetic fuels (e-fuels)

• Low-energy processing – making CO₂ easier to transport or use (e.g., separating it with membranes or distilling it to remove impurities)

• Small-scale testing – simulation models or modular systems to trial new CO₂ uses without needing huge investment

3. Approaches not of interest:

• Uses that require extremely pure CO₂ (waste-to-energy CO₂ isn’t ultra-pure)

• Ideas with no clear pathways for reaching the market

• Solutions that need huge amounts of energy but give very little CO₂ benefit

• Concepts where EEW would have to become the sole producer of CO₂ products — EEW should be a supplier or partner, not the only seller

4. Why this matters - sustainability impact:
EEW produces 5 million tonnes of CO₂ every year — about half of it from renewable (biogenic) sources. If we find smart ways to use that CO₂, we can:

• Replace fossil carbon with recovered CO₂

• Create “closed cycles” where CO₂ is reused again and again

• Make inroads towards net negative emissions by using the renewable CO₂ fraction and other techniques

• Open new opportunities in local economies and carbon markets

Your idea could be part of the solution — whether it’s a product, a service, a technology, or a creative collaboration. Chemists and engineers can develop CO₂ conversion and storage technologies, while environmental scientists assess impacts. Data experts can model systems, and business or policy students can shape market and regulatory pathways. Designers and communicators can make solutions clear and appealing. Together, these perspectives can turn captured CO₂ into a driver of climate action.

1. What we are looking for:

We want ideas that:

• Recover value from fly ash — metals, minerals, or functional materials

• Reduce waste and toxicity so less fly ash ends up in hazardous landfills

• Can fit into existing waste-to-energy processes without major disruptions

• Consider market demand, regulations, and safety so the idea could be applied in the real world

2. Possible directions - starting points:

You can take the challenge in many directions, for example:

a. Extracting value

• Metal recovery – getting zinc, copper, or rare earth elements out using chemical (hydrometallurgy), biological (bioleaching), or electrical (electrochemical) methods

• Sorting & concentrating – separating valuable parts of fly ash with magnets, sieves, or density-based techniques

• Scanning & analysis – using AI or spectrometry to spot batches with high-value content

b. Turning into products

• Construction materials – using fly ash in bricks, tiles, or concrete as a lower-carbon alternative to cement (geopolymerisation)

• Blended binders – mixing fly ash with other industrial waste to make new building materials

• Catalysts or filters – treating fly ash so it can be used in chemical processes or environmental cleanup

c. Making it safer

• Safe encapsulation – locking heavy metals into stable glass or ceramic so they can’t leach into the environment

• Better storage – improved landfill or containment methods to cut pollution risks

3. Approaches not of interest:

• Anything that skips incineration entirely (the focus is after waste is burned)

• Solutions that do not demonstrate economic viability

4. Why this matters - sustainability impact:
Finding new uses for fly ash could:

• Cut landfill waste and lower disposal costs

• Reduce mining by recovering metals and minerals from existing waste streams

• Lower CO₂ emissions by replacing carbon-heavy cement with fly ash-based materials

• Protect the environment by preventing toxic substances from leaching into soil and water

Your solution could help turn a pollution problem into a sustainable resource — advancing both waste-to-energy innovation and circular economy goals.

Fly ash valorisation needs diverse skills. Chemists and engineers can recover materials or create safe, new products. Environmental scientists can evaluate health and sustainability benefits. Business and policy students can explore markets and regulations, while designers and IT specialists can improve tracking and reuse systems. Interdisciplinary teams can turn a hazardous byproduct into a valuable resource.

1. What we are looking for:

We want ideas that:

·       Turn decommissioned wind blades into value — new products, materials, or services

·       Show how to move from “just storing” old blades to actually processing them profitably

·       Consider environmental, technical, and business impacts so the solution is scalable

2. Possible directions - starting points:

You can take the challenge in many directions, for example:

a. Reuse / Repurposing / Upcycling

• Transform blades into furniture, benches, playgrounds, or outdoor installations

• Cut and shape blades into modular architectural elements for buildings or bridges

• Create local reuse networks with cities or industries to give blades a second life nearby

• Build digital platforms to match retired blades with upcyclers or designers

• Explore product-as-a-service concepts — e.g., leasing upcycled structures made from GFK

b. Mechanical recycling

• Shred or grind blades into materials for cement, asphalt, or other composites

• Mix processed GFK into low-carbon binders for construction

c. Chemical Recycling

• Break down resins and recover glass fibres using chemical processes (e.g., pyrolysis, solvolysis)

• Improve incineration processes to handle GFK without the current downsides (residues, breakdowns, flue gas cleaning issues)

3. Approaches not of interest:

·       Landfilling or “just store it” approaches

·       Solutions with no clear environmental benefit

·       Purely theoretical ideas with no potential for real-world testing

5. Why this matters - sustainability impact:
Finding new uses for wind turbine blades can:

• Prevent massive volumes of non-biodegradable waste from going to landfill

• Replace virgin materials like cement, steel, or plastics with recycled GFK

• Help decarbonize construction and manufacturing by using waste as feedstock

• Create local economic opportunities in recycling and upcycling industries

The challenge is both technical and creative — whether you’re into engineering, chemistry, business, design, or sustainability, there’s a way to contribute. Chemists, engineers, and material scientists can develop mechanical or chemical recycling methods. Designers and architects can reimagine blades as functional products, while business and policy students create viable business models. Environmental experts can track sustainability gains. By combining skills, teams can give turbine blades a profitable second life.

You want to try out innovation and see what it feels like

1. You want to meet people from different backgrounds who care about impact

2. You want to gain new skills—from systems thinking to storytelling

3. You want to do something that matters, even if you’re not sure where to start

4. You’re curious about sustainability, green tech, or entrepreneurship—but haven’t had a chance to explore it yet

Bachelor’s and Master’s students from any discipline (chemistry, engineering, design, business, art, tech—you name it)

Early-stage researchers with an open mind and a collaborative spirit

No startup idea required. No specific background needed. Just your energy, your brain, and your interest in building something meaningful.

You can find the Terms and Conditions here.

All information about the IP conditions, you can find here.

This event presents several opportunities:

Collaboration: Meet and collaborate with like-minded people from other institutes and disciplines on cutting-edge projects.

Training: Take part in a pitch-training and communication workshop coordinated by Wiley.

Pitching/Science communication: Learn new skills and immediately put them into action.

Prizes: Win a 'public choice award' or the 'experts choice award', and find opportunities for extended support in the greenCHEM innovation ecosystem. More details on prizes will follow.

Dialog/Network: Build lasting connections to those working sustainable chemistry innovation & entrepreneurship in Berlin.

In kickSTART, we ask for you to apply with ‘an idea’ or ‘a project’, or ‘an innovation‘. The ideas/projects/innovations are based on chemical research, and could (if developed) enter into the market, or into the chemical industry and have a transformative effect, in the direction of improved sustainability.

They can be related to almost any theme/topic or application area, as long as ‘chemistry’ is a core component. However, applications related to drug development are not what we are looking for.

This is meant to be the first step so we do not expect very advanced business models or existing customers! Most important, is you, your idea, and your motivation!

This opportunity is targetted at newcomers to the innovation and entrepreneurship pathway. It is ideally suited to students working in chemistry or related subjects. You could be at bachelor, master, PhD, or Post-doc level. No knowledge or experience in entrepreneurship is required.

You can apply as an individual or as a team. We recommend the latter because projects/ideas supported by a team benefit from the more diverse skill set. Team members do not all need to be chemists!
You can apply individually and, if selected, bring in team members later, as long is it is before the pitch-training workshop takes place.

If projects meet the conditions of eligibility, finalists are selected by the greenCHEM team on these criteria:

• The project is clearly connected to chemical topics.

• The project idea addresses a relevant current problem.

• The project idea is novel and innovative.

• The project idea has good sustainability credentials. E.g. It applies principles of green chemistry. And/or it contributes to the UN sustainable development goals 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11-15.

• The project has positive impact potential if it were to become realized and scaled up.

  Finalists who complete the pitching workshop then take part in the pitch final and two prizes are awarded. The expert jury selects a winner on a similar basis as above. The audience selects a winner, simply based on their preference.

Whether IP is issued, pending, or still in the process. We do not want any specific details about the underlying details, data, lab work, or material/molecule compositions. During your application and the format you will not be asked to share any such information. Of course, if you are uncertain, you can reach out to us, or the patent officers of your institute.

There will be 5 finalist projects.

It is defined pretty well by the 12 principles, found here

English.

Yes, the same format ran last year under the name ‘PitchCourse & Discourse‘.