Three Real-World Laboratories are being Launched in Berli

Brain City Berlin

Drone logistics, recycling of building material and wastewater reuse: these three ideas are to be tested in so-called “Reallaboren” (Real-World Laboratories) in the coming three years. The Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises is funding the projects in Brain City Berlin with a total of nine million euros. TU Berlin is involved in all three projects and will receive funding of around 3.1 million euros.

The B(e)ware project aims to investigate to which extent used building materials such as wooden beams or steel girders can be reused in construction. The IWIQ project, on the other hand, will test if ‘grey water’, which flows away after washing hands, for example can be reused – e.g. for watering gardens. And U-Space Berlin wants to use drones to test the transport of light goods over the so-called ‘last mile’ in urban areas, for example for the delivery of medicines. All three projects are about making real improvements to people's everyday lives through innovation. The Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises is now giving them a total of nine million euros over the next three years to test their ideas in ‘real-world labs’ in everyday life. The Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) will receive around 3.1 million euros of this funding, as it is involved in all three laboratories as a project partner. Ut is also managing the ‘B(e)Ware’ project.

The funding is being provided as part of a competition launched by the Senate Department in October 2023. Fifty-six projects applied, and ten were selected for a six-month concept phase in which they could refine and develop their ideas. ‘With the three selected real-world laboratories, we are promoting innovations made in Berlin – from the idea to the application. IWIQ, B(e)Ware and U-Space Berlin are developing solutions that will be used in everyday life and make a direct contribution to greater sustainability and quality of life,’ said Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey. She emphasised that Berlin has enormous potential for creative, innovative solutions from science and industry.

The aim of the competition is to make the applications economically viable at the end of the three years. Real-world laboratories are an important link in the transfer between research and industry. They bring science, businesses and citizens together to test innovative solutions directly in practice. They are also intended to show how research can be quickly transferred into everyday life. TU President Prof. Dr. Geraldine Rauch also stressed the importance of the projects for the city: ‘Each of these real-world laboratories opens up new opportunities for Berlin for a sustainable future,’ she said.

The use of real-world laboratories is also part of TU Berlin's research strategy. The university has bundled more than 25 projects on the ‘StadtManufaktur’ platform. (vdo)

The three funded real-world laboratories

B(e)Ware – radical rethinking in the construction sector

The B(e)Ware project aims to test planning and construction processes involving reusable building materials. In the real-world laboratory, local, used building materials such as wooden beams and steel girders are to be returned to the value chain in the construction sector as supporting structures. The concept is being implemented for the first time in three Berlin construction projects: the TULIUM exhibition pavilion on the Charlottenburg campus of the Technische Universität Berlin, a water rescue station on Lake Müggelsee, and a workshop building for the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz’s (German Foundation for Monument Protection's) youth building workshop.
Project partners: Natural Building Lab at the TU Berlin (network coordination), ZRS Architekten und Ingenieure GvA mbH, associated partners from the fields of e.g., materials testing, logistics, demolition, construction products.

IWIQ – Reducing drinking water consumption by up to 60 per cent

The IWIQ project aims to contribute to a future-proof water supply and heat transition. In the real-world laboratory, the recycling of grey water (slightly polluted wastewater, e.g. after showering, washing hands or machine washing) from households with simultaneous heat recovery is to be implemented for the first time in existing buildings. To this end, detailed 3D models of buildings in Berlin are being created to enable pipe and system planning – because a completely new water cycle must be installed.
Project partners: Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin gGmbH (network coordination), Nolde – innovative Wasserkonzepte GmbH, TU Berlin, Contecht GmbH, Howoge Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH, Erste Wohnungsgenossenschaft Pankow eG, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin , Magda GmbH, inter 3 GmbH Institute for Resource Management

U-Space Berlin – delivery drones in Berlin for the first time

The U-Space Berlin project aims to test an efficient last-mile logistics solution using drones in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district. The planned practical demonstrations include the transport of medical materials between a hospital and external facilities and the delivery of goods to a decentralised industrial park. The aim of the real-world laboratory is to develop scalable and data-based business models in urban areas for the integration of drones into logistics and transport concepts.
Project partners: Startup Colors UG/Applied Data Incubator (network coordination), TU Berlin, DiAvEn Labfly UG, marktschwalbe GmbH, Murzilli Consulting / M&K Germany GmbH, Akkon Hochschule Johanniter University of Applied Sciences

© TU Berlin / allefarben-foto
Testing the reuse of building materials: Franziska Giffey with partners from the real-world laboratory ‘B(e)Ware – radical rethinking in the construction sector’
© TU Berlin / allefarben-foto
Recovery of water and heat: Franziska Giffey with partners from the real-world laboratory ‘IWIQ – Reducing drinking water consumption by up to 60 per cent’
© TU Berlin / allefarben-foto
Inner-city transport with drones: Franziska Giffey with partners from the real-world laboratory ‘U-Space Berlin – delivery drones in Berlin for the first time’