Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences also submitted its funding project "Gypsum recycling as an opportunity for the southern Harz region" to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and was one of the 32 most convincing applicants. The funding period covers five years, during which Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences has almost eight million euros at its disposal to realise the innovation project. The project is being carried out by Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, Bauhaus University Weimar and the gypsum company Casea.

The starting point for the development of the idea of gypsum recycling is the fact that gypsum products today are half natural gypsum and half FGD gypsum from coal-fired power generation. The proportion of recycled gypsum is very low. In addition, reserves of natural gypsum are not available in unlimited quantities and further extraction is controversial. The industry therefore increasingly requires recycled gypsum for its products. Gypsum plasterboard in particular offers great potential here, as do existing spoil tips where natural gypsum is still contained in the overburden, for example in the nearby Kohnstein near Niedersachswerfen. The role of Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences within this process is to organise the return, transport and logistics of the gypsum waste. In addition, an app is to be developed that makes it possible to report the need for gypsum directly to the supplier during the construction of a house.

The "Gypsum recycling as an opportunity for the southern Harz region" project is due to start in the summer at the latest.

PM 13/2019