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To press information "New Establishment: Helmholtz Institute Freiberg"
New Establishment: Helmholtz Institute Freiberg
The Senate of the Helmholtz Association has approved the scheme of founding a new Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) in Freiberg. The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg is to be operated as an external institute of the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and be located on the campus of the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg. It is intended to research new technologies designed to safeguard and assure the supply of raw materials, utilize resources more efficiently and recycle them in an environmentally friendly manner. "In the future, we will have to utilize scarce raw materials and resources in a significantly more efficient and environmentally friendly manner. The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg will develop new solutions to this end", says Prof. Dr Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association. The institute will research innovative technologies for the exploration, extraction and utilization of mineral and metalliferous raw materials. Furthermore, issues regarding the recycling as well as the exploration and utilization of domestic raw materials will be examined. An important third key function will be the training of skilled employees as well as promoting the general and continued education and training of foreign specialists and professionals in the resource sector. With the Helmholtz institutes, the Helmholtz Association brings the cooperation between Helmholtz centres and universities to a sustained new level. Since 2009, Helmholtz institutes have been founded in Mainz, Jena, Saarbrücken and Ulm. These institutes are funded by the federal government and the federal states, thus strengthening university research in promising future-oriented fields. Leading positions at the new Helmholtz Institute Freiberg are to be joint appointments by the TU Bergakademie and the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf. An advisory council appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) evaluated the Resource Institute’s scientific concept in the past year and rated it very positively. Another prerequisite for the successful conversion into a Helmholtz institute is a good "Helmholtz fit". "The scientific spectrum of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg is a perfect match for the mission of the Helmholtz Association to safeguard the future through research," notes Prof. Mlynek.
