Company, Team & Advisory Board

We are an independent research and educational organisation.

Wasser 3.0 was initiated between 2012 and 2018 by the then junior professor Dr. Katrin Schuhen as a university research project.

Since the founding of Wasser 3.0 gGmbH in 2020, all activities related to water without microplastics have been bundled in a non-profit organization.

Wasser 3.0 provides solutions for water without microplastics, develops new digital-real educational concepts (WASoMI) and engages with many offers & services.

Wasser 3.0 acts as a sustainability entrepreneur in a non-profit, cross-sector and cross-stakeholder manner, and aims to make measurable contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the areas of clean water, green innovation, climate protection and responsible production within all projects.

Wasser 3.0 gGmbH works and operates in a functional organizational structure, which means among other things:

  • clear assignment of tasks and responsibilities.
  • high transparency.
  • clear specification of the individual areas of responsibility / expertise (4-eyes principle).
  • Monitoring body: internal as well as external controlling (6-eyes principle).

Awards and achievements

Already a few months after the foundation of Wasser 3.0 gGmbH, the first major successes in the application of our Wasser 3.0 PE-X® process in municipal wastewater treatment plants, in the environment of industrial process waters and, in seawater could be recorded.

Besides winning the Next Economy Award of the German Sustainability Award Foundation, the German Innovation Award in Gold, the AquaTech Innovation Award, the Planet Hero Award, we have also been awarded SIT Alumni of the EIB Institute and are a Top Innovator of the World Economic Forum.

Together with our cooperation partner abcr GmbH from Karlsruhe, we were able to win the Baden-Württemberg Innovation Award in 2022.

With the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label award for our Wasser 3.0 PE-X® process, we are one of the #1000Solutions certified and awarded by the Solar Impulse Foundation - founded by Bertrand Piccard.

Without a team, Wasser 3.0 would not be able to act

The core team of Wasser 3.0 currently consists of seven people, a large network and is: Interdisciplinary. Solution-oriented. Highly motivated.

  • Katrin Schuhen is the inventor and founder of Wasser 3.0, whose foundation she laid while working as an Assistant Professor of Organic & Ecological Chemistry (2012-18). After receiving her PhD in chemistry in 2007, she worked in the polymer industry, among others. Since May 2020, she has been the managing director of the non-profit Wasser 3.0 gGmbH.
  • Dennis Schober, B.Sc. Environmental Science / Master Industrial Wastewater Technology, has 10+ years of experience in the wastewater sector, including 6+ years at Wasser 3.0 as a research associate (operating the pilot plant reactor). He holds the position of CTO.
  • Erika Myers, M. Sc. Hydrogeology and Environmental Geosciences has taken on the role of Sustainability Specialist in 2022 and serves as Project Manager.
  • Michael Sturm, M.Sc. Environmental Sciences/ focus on Environmental & Water Chemistry, has been with us for 7+ years as a research and development scientist. He completed his PhD at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in cooperation with Wasser 3.0, in 2022.
  • Anika Korzin, M.Sc. Sustainable Process Design, joined the team in September 2021 as a process engineer.
  • Pieter Ronsse, B.Sc. Chemistry - specializing in environmental chemistry, Ghent University of Applied Sciences (HoGent), joined the team in January 2024 (photo still missing).
  • Oleg Zernikel, B.Sc. Environmental Science, joined the team in January 2022 as an auxiliary research associate and Wasser 3.0 Ambassador for Sport.

Advisory Board

As the next most important supervisory body, we are working on the integration of an Advisory Board. The Advisory Board members will assume an advisory function.

More news in our blog

17. July 2024

Impact of microplastics on wildlife

Microplastics are a pervasive environmental pollutant affecting wildlife, ecosystem, and human health. Microplastics can be consumed at all trophic levels and transmitted along the food chain, resulting in numerous long-term detrimental impacts on wildlife and ecosystems across the world. The amount of research investigating such impacts has been increasing over the years. We have gone through recent, state of the art research that has been done on microplastic impacts on wildlife in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, and summarize some of the main points in this blog. (Micro)plastic pollution is a complex global issue, affecting ecosystems, wildlife, and human health around the world. Understanding the inputs and fluxes of microplastic pollution across environmental compartments and ecosystems provides a critical foundation for effective policymaking and environmental management. By taking action against (micro)plastic pollution and transitioning towards a more sustainable and circular economy, numerous potentials and advantages can be identified, including measurable contributions towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
1. July 2024

Global Water Challenge Award 2024

Under the auspices of the EU Green Week, the Water Innovation Europe Awards 2024 were presented on the first day of Water Innovation Europe 2024. At the ceremony with more than 260 participants, five innovators and their groundbreaking solutions in the water sector were the center of attention. And we were right in the middle of it all!
24. June 2024

Microplastics and Textiles – a state description

One of the main sources of direct microplastic entry into the environment is through the wearing and washing of synthetic textiles. This accounts for approximately 35% of the microplastics entering the global marine environment every year, amounting to between 200,000 and 500,000 tonnes. There are multiple pathways and options to target the unintentional release of microplastics from textiles, from the design through to the use and disposal, that must be considered. The European Commission has identified the textile value chain as a key priority in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and proposed key actions and measures that are set to be finalized by the end of this year. This blog will provide an overview of issues related to the synthetic textiles, the proposed pathways to target unintentional microplastic release, along with the associated challenges that must be addressed.