Backed by approximately 9 million euros from the Helmholtz Initiative and Networking Fund, the campaign brings together nine Helmholtz centers in a collaborative effort that bridges research, industry, government, and civil society. At the heart of this initiative are three “Solution Labs” – real-world demonstration sites where innovative water management approaches are tested and refined. These labs operate across different scales, from entire river basins to urban infrastructures and even microscopic pollutant processes. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) contributes with two projects: the URBAN-LE Solution Lab in Leipzig and the SOLVE initiative in the Elbe River basin.
Water is one of the most fundamental resources for life – yet it is increasingly under threat. Climate change, rapid urbanization, and rising pollution levels are placing unprecedented pressure on water systems worldwide. In response, the Helmholtz Association has launched an ambitious Water Safety and Security Campaign, designed to develop practical, science-based solutions that protect both human health and the environment.
Rethinking Cities: The URBAN-LE Solution Lab
Cities are both drivers of climate change and among its most vulnerable victims. From heatwaves and flooding to water scarcity and aging infrastructure, urban areas face a complex web of challenges. The URBAN-LE Solution Lab in Leipzig aims to tackle these issues head-on by reimagining how cities manage water. The concept behind the lab is known as “blue-green-red” (BGR) development. It integrates water systems (blue), biological elements such as vegetation (green), and energy infrastructure (red) into a unified approach to urban planning. Rather than treating these systems separately, the lab explores how they can work together to create resilient, sustainable cities.
This systemic perspective is especially important as cities transition to renewable energy sources, which can introduce variability into infrastructure systems. Water networks, for example, must remain reliable even as energy supply fluctuates. URBAN-LE seeks to ensure that drinking water remains safe, infrastructure adapts to climate stress, and environmental impacts are minimized. The Leipzig Science Park is to serve as first study case for the project, with other demonstration sites being explored.
“Urban resilience can no longer be achieved through isolated solutions,” says Dr. Sebastian Reinecke, head of Innovation Lab CLEWATEC at HZDR and lead scientist in the URBAN-LE project. “We need integrated systems where water infrastructure, urban ecosystems, and energy as well as heat supply are planned together – only then can cities truly adapt to the changing climate.” With HZDR contributing its expertise in water and energy systems research, URBAN-LE serves as a blueprint for future cities – not just in Germany, but globally.
Restoring Balance: The SOLVE Lab in the Elbe River Basin
While cities face mounting water challenges, river ecosystems are also under strain. Human interventions – such as dam construction, land-use changes, and pollution – have significantly altered natural water flows and disrupted ecological balance. Climate change is compounding these effects, threatening biodiversity and essential ecosystem services.
The SOLVE (Helmholtz SOlution Lab Elbe RiVEr Basin) initiative is tackling these issues at a large scale. Bringing together expertise from seven Helmholtz centers and ten external stakeholders, SOLVE focuses on the Elbe River basin as a model system for integrated water management. Its guiding principle is simple yet powerful: “keeping water in the landscape.” This means enhancing natural water retention, restoring floodplains, and optimizing water management practices to support both ecosystems and human needs.
“Our goal is to move beyond fragmented approaches and create a holistic understanding of river systems,” explains Dr. Gregory Lecrivain, lead scientist in the SOLVE project. “By combining hydrology, ecology, and social sciences, we can develop strategies that are both scientifically sound and practically effective.”
At HZDR, researchers are contributing innovative techniques to this effort. One novel approach focuses on analyzing water quality through foam formation. Microorganisms, peptides, and proteins can accumulate at water surfaces, forming stable foams. By measuring properties such as interfacial tension and foam stability, scientists can detect surface-active pollutants in a new and efficient way.
In another line of research, sediment cores from the Elbe floodplain are being studied in a transportable experimental facility. These samples are subjected to simulated flooding and sedimentation events, allowing researchers to observe how water moves through different sediment layers. Using advanced imaging techniques such as ultrafast X-ray tomography and neutron radiography, they can track changes in real time – offering unprecedented insights into subsurface water dynamics. This work is part of the junior research group “Particle resuspension in riverine flows” and supported by the DRESDEN-Concept initiative. Together, these efforts contribute to a deeper understanding of how river systems function and how they can be restored.
Additional information:
Dr. Sebastian Reinecke |Dr. Gregory Lecrivain
Institute of Fluid Dynamics at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 2320| +49 351 260 3768
Email: s.reinecke@hzdr.de| g.lecrivain@hzdr.de
Media contact:
Simon Schmitt | Head
Communications and Media Relations at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3400 | Mob.: +49 175 874 2865 | Email: s.schmitt@hzdr.de
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) performs – as an independent German research center – research in the fields of energy, health, and matter. We focus on answering the following questions:
To help answer these research questions, HZDR operates large-scale facilities, which are also used by visiting researchers: the Ion Beam Center, the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources.
HZDR is a member of the Helmholtz Association and has six sites (Dresden, Freiberg, Görlitz, Grenoble, Leipzig, Schenefeld near Hamburg) with almost 1,500 members of staff, of whom about 700 are scientists, including 200 Ph.D. candidates.