Microplastic Detectives
11. November 2025
Bronze at the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Technology Award 2025: A Milestone for Water without Microplastics
We were awarded 3rd place at the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Technology Award 2025. This recognition is more than just an award – it is a powerful signal that our path to water without microplastics is not only possible but is already becoming a reality.
State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment Dr. Andreas Baumann presents the certificate to Dr. Katrin Schuhen © bmf Armin Burkhardt
History was made on November 11, 2025, in the Schwabenlandhalle in Fellbach: State Secretary for the Environment Dr. Andre Baumann honored us in the category 'Circular Management and Prevention of Environmental Pollution'. For our entire team, this recognition is a moving moment – a moment that crowns years of intensive research, countless experiments, and unwavering belief in a better future.
The Invisible Threat Becomes Tangible – and Solvable
Microplastics are everywhere: From the Arctic to the deep sea, from Mount Everest to the human bloodstream. The figures are frightening – every wastewater treatment plant in the Global North annually flushes between 93 million and 8.2 billion plastic particles into our waters. But while many only describe the problem, we have created something that convinced the jury: a real, applicable solution.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- >95% removal rate of microplastics
- 75% lower operating costs than conventional filtration
- 96% reduction in CO₂ footprint
Die Zahlen sprechen für sich:
- >95% Entfernungsrate von Mikroplastik
- 75% geringere Betriebskosten als herkömmliche Filtration
- 96% Reduktion des CO₂-Fußabdrucks
Clump & Skim – The Revolution is Simply Ingenious
With Wasser 3.0 PE-X®, we have developed the world's first filter-free process for microplastic removal. The principle? Non-toxic hybrid silica gels clump the tiny particles into popcorn-like formations that float to the water surface and can simply be skimmed off.
The special thing about our approach is the combination of high-tech materials with low-tech processes. We don't need energy-intensive filters, no toxic chemicals, and we generate minimal maintenance effort. At the same time, we completely close the loop by recycling the skimmed microplastic agglomerates.
This innovative technology is not only efficient – it is also economical. With up to 75% lower operating costs than conventional filtration methods, we prove that environmental protection and economic viability are not opposites but reinforce each other.
detect | remove | reuse – From Problem to Resource
The award recognizes our holistic approach along the entire Wasser 3.0 strategy:
- detect: With Wasser 3.0 detect, we offer fast, cost-effective microplastic analysis that enables continuous process control for the first time. Instead of 15 hours, an analysis now only takes 15 minutes – with a 56% cost saving.
- remove: Removal is filter-free, energy-efficient, and achieves over 95% efficiency – regardless of the polymer type.
- reuse: The removed microplastic agglomerates are recycled as high-quality secondary raw materials – transforming environmental pollution into a resource.
This circular approach exactly matches the goals of the awarded category: Material cycles are closed, environmentally harmful substances are separated, and their distribution is significantly prevented. You can find more about our systemic approach to solving the plastic problem in our blog.
From the Lab to Practice – Impact that Matters
The process is not a vision of the future – it is already in use. Successful pilot projects have been running in German wastewater treatment plants since 2020, including in Landau-Mörlheim, where the process was implemented as 'Fourth Treatment Stage plus' together with solutions for the removal of micropollutants. You can learn more about this simultaneous removal of microplastics, PVA, and PFAS in our current blog post.
Wasser 3.0 PE-X® is also already being used in the plastics industry to prevent microplastic emissions directly at the source. Our innovative rental model for industry makes the technology accessible to companies of all sizes.
The Global Map of Microplastics – Making the Invisible Visible
A special core piece of our work is the Global Map of Microplastics – the world's first interactive map that standardizes the collection and visualization of microplastic pollution in waters. This innovative platform combines scientific excellence with the power of Citizen Science and makes the invisible visible.
With already over 7,000 data points from water monitoring, we are creating the foundation for targeted action. Everyone can contribute to the Global Map of Microplastics with our analysis kit and become an active part of the solution. As our river sampling shows, microplastic concentrations fluctuate dramatically – after heavy rainfall, the contamination can increase by 40 times.
Standardized Data for Better Decisions
A central problem of previous microplastic research was the lack of comparability: A wide variety of sampling and analysis methods made comparing different studies virtually impossible. We have therefore developed standardized protocols that can be downloaded for free from our homepage.
By combining standardized sampling with our innovative detection method, we are achieving a new quality in microplastic analysis. Particularly exciting: Our microplastic mapping projects show how concentrations vary depending on population density, traffic, and agricultural use.
Citizen Science Revolutionizes Monitoring
With over 500 sampling points in water monitoring and extensive analysis in wastewater treatment plant effluent, we have proven that standardized Citizen Science methods can meet scientific standards. Schools, organizations, and private individuals are actively contributing to data acquisition – a paradigm shift in environmental monitoring.
We use the Global Map of Microplastics for stakeholder engagement by communicating microplastic contamination while simultaneously working on solutions for water without microplastics. The identified hotspots provide the crucial starting point for targeted measures.
Non-Profit and Economical – A Business Model with Vision
Particularly noteworthy: The jury honored not only our technology but also our business model as a non-profit GmbH. In a time when innovation is often exclusively associated with profit maximization, we have proven that there is another way – and a successful one at that.
As a non-profit GreenTech company, we pursue a unique approach: We develop highly innovative, economically viable technologies, but 100% of the profits flow back into research, education, and the dissemination of our solutions. This combination of technological excellence, economic sustainability, and public-benefit action convinced the jury permanently.
The economic viability of our solutions was a central evaluation criterion – and here we scored highly: With up to 75% lower operating costs compared to conventional methods, a scalable rental model for the industry, and the recycling of microplastics as secondary raw material, we create real economic added value without compromising on environmental protection.
The jury's decision to honor a non-profit organization is a decision with foresight. It sends a powerful signal: Social innovations that combine environmental protection, economic viability, and public welfare are not only sustainable – they are necessary. Our model shows that it is possible to develop highly professional technology solutions while serving a higher purpose: a world with clean water for everyone.
This recognition strengthens us in our path and hopefully encourages other social innovators that non-profit management and technological innovation are not opposites but can ideally complement each other.
What This Award Means
Receiving the Environmental Technology Award is a wonderful confirmation of our work and spurs us on enormously. It shows that our systemic approach – bringing science, economy, and society together – is the right way forward. We are not just developing technologies but creating real solutions for one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time. And we prove that environmental protection and economic viability are not opposites but reinforce each other.
The Time for Estimating is Over – The Time for Measuring Has Come
For years, communication around microplastics was primarily based on estimates. That has changed. Through our scientific publications and the Global Map, we provide reliable data as the basis for political decisions and practical action.
As our projects show – from the Ocean Race Europe in Kiel to river sampling in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and soon the Neisse – microplastics know no borders, and neither does our commitment to clean water.
These words summarize what we stand for: For solutions instead of just problem descriptions. For action instead of hesitation. For innovation with impact. The award is not an endpoint for us, but a milestone on a path we are taking together with many partners, supporters, and like-minded individuals.
Outlook: The Journey Continues
This award motivates us to continue even more determinedly. Within the framework of our EU research projects UPSTREAM and REMEDIES, we are working on the further development of our technologies and on scaling our solutions beyond Europe.
Our goal remains clear: Water without microplastics. For all of us. For future generations.
