{"id":194889,"date":"2026-09-03T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dbu.de\/?post_type=news&p=194889"},"modified":"2026-09-03T07:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T05:13:35","slug":"dbu-german-environmental-award-for-roda-verheyen-and-klaus-vossenkaul","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.dbu.de\/en\/news\/dbu-german-environmental-award-for-roda-verheyen-and-klaus-vossenkaul\/","title":{"rendered":"DBU German Environmental Award for Roda Verheyen and Klaus Vossenkaul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Enabler: <\/strong>Hamburg-based lawyer <\/strong>Dr. Roda Verheyen will be awarded the German Environmental Prize, worth a total of 500,000 euros, by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) in 2026; she will share the prize with engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul. The award ceremony will take place on October 25 in Aachen.
© Felix Schmitt\/Greenpeace <\/i><\/a><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Osnabr\u00fcck\/Aachen. This year, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU<\/em>) is awarding the German Environmental Prize<\/a>, worth a total of 500,000 euros, to Hamburg-based environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen <\/strong>and membrane filter engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul<\/strong>, founder and CEO of the company Membion<\/a>. The award, which is one of the most highly endowed environmental honors in Europe, will be presented by Federal President Frank-Walter<\/a> Steinmeier <\/strong>on <\/strong>Sunday, October 25, at a ceremony in Aachen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving a voice to those affected by climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Field visit in Peru: <\/strong>Dr. Roda Verheyen (left), the recipient-to-be of the German Environmental Prize awarded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), wants to give a voice to those affected by climate change\u2014including on the international stage. Verheyen shares the prize, totaling 500,000 euros, with engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to DBU Secretary General Alexander Bonde <\/strong>, Verheyen and Vossenkaul are \u201ccarrying out innovative <\/strong>, pioneering work and advancing environmental protection.\u201d Verheyen has been \u201cadvocating for climate justice for years.\u201d Bonde said, \u201cshe gives a voice to those affected by climate change.\u201d Vossenkaul, for his part, has, as an entrepreneur, \u201cfound solutions to better protect the vital resource of water with courage, perseverance, and innovative spirit,” says Bonde. And: Vossenkaul has \u201cachieved a very important breakthrough in wastewater treatment.\u201d As a co-founder of previous companies, he also brings \u201cextensive expertise\u201d to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membion, a membrane filter company, started out as a garage-based business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Due to increasing glacial melt<\/strong> caused by climate change, the Peruvian glacial lake Palcacocha (pictured) is filling up. Lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen, who will receive the German Environmental Award from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) in 2026, advocates for ensuring that the law reflects current environmental and climate issues. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vossenkaul\u2019s company, which today has 40 employees, literally got its start in 2012 as a garage-based business. To this day, it is headquartered in an old building that used to be a weaving mill in Roetgen with a small workshop. In the early years, Vossenkaul and his partner, process engineer Dirk Volmering<\/strong>, devoted themselves exclusively to the further development of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology<\/a>. The result could revolutionize wastewater treatment: an energy-efficient and space-saving treatment system using hollow-fiber membrane filters\u2014thin tubes that, when used in wastewater treatment plants, filter crystal-clear water from the sludge. They look like spaghetti, are hollow like macaroni, and are about 1.60 meters long. Fine pores filter problematic substances such as microplastics, pathogens, and multidrug-resistant germs out of the wastewater. Although membrane filter technology has already provided significantly better water quality than conventional wastewater treatment, there was a catch: among other things, the high energy consumption required to flush the membranes\u2014to prevent sludge clogging\u2014deterred many wastewater treatment plant operators from installing the system. Vossenkaul improved the membrane filter technology\u2014which was already technically and ecologically superior to traditional wastewater treatment plants\u2014to such an extent that it is now also cost-competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the right to environmental and climate protection: <\/strong>Environmental lawyer <\/strong>Dr. Roda Verheyen (pictured here in front of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court) will be awarded the German Environmental Prize by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) in 2026. She will share the prize, totaling 500,000 euros, with engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul.
© Kathrin Pohlmann\/DBU <\/i><\/a><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“This is GreenTech<\/em> made in Germany, and it has what it takes to be a big export hit.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In his element: <\/strong>membrane filter engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul on the grounds of a wastewater treatment plant. In 2026, he will receive the German Environmental Prize from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) for his innovations in wastewater treatment. He shares the award, totaling 500,000 euros, with environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen.
© Markus Gro\u00dfe Ophoff\/DBU <\/i><\/a><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is GreenTech made in Germany<\/em>, and it has what it takes to be an export hit,\u201d says DBU Secretary General Bonde. In fact, Membion technology is already being used in industry, including by McCain<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest producer of French fries. What\u2019s more, it is at the heart of Germany\u2019s largest membrane wastewater treatment plant, which is currently under construction in Wolfsburg-Stahlberg. Of the roughly 8,700 wastewater treatment plants nationwide, hundreds are facing such a transformation: The EU\u2019s Municipal Wastewater Directive<\/a> (Kommunale Abwasserrichtlinie, KARL<\/em>) requires facilities above a certain size or in high-risk areas to implement an additional fourth treatment stage to remove micropollutants by the end of July 2027. Vossenkaul considers his company well-prepared for this: with fully automated membrane production and a modular system. Various elements can be easily slotted together. More than 1,600 \u201cmacaroni\u201d membranes are anchored in a base element and float freely like seaweed in enclosed, man-sized housings submerged in the sludge of the wastewater treatment plant. In Wolfsburg, 3,000 such base elements will be used in the future. The membranes are flushed in a matter of seconds by a burst of air through the \u201cJetSplash<\/a><\/em>\u201d (water splash), one of Vossenkaul\u2019s 28 patents. The crystal-clear water discharged from the treatment plants protects surface waters such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs and is suitable, for example, for agricultural irrigation. This, in turn, protects groundwater, from which drinking water is extracted\u2014a factor of increasing importance due to extreme weather events such as droughts and heat waves resulting from climate change – as we have experienced in this year’s summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Garage as a Test Lab: <\/strong>Membion, <\/strong>a <\/strong>membrane filtration company <\/strong>based in Roetgen near Aachen, literally started out as a garage business. Founder and CEO Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul will receive the 2026 German Environmental Prize from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) for innovations in wastewater treatment, which he shares with environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen. The prize is endowed with a total of 500,000 euros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Verheyen’s consistent commitment to enforcing legal requirements for environmental and climate protection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bonde, Verheyen, for her part, has been working tirelessly for more than two decades to enforce legal requirements for the protection of the climate and the environment. The Hamburg-based environmental lawyer applies abstract rules from national and international law to specific cases \u201cand thereby makes them effective. She gives a voice to people affected by the impacts of climate change.\u201d And she helps to safeguard the rights of future generations as well. Bonde: \u201cShe has played a key role in ensuring that courts can take environmental and climate considerations into account appropriately.\u201d This \u201coutstanding communicator\u201d conveys complex issues to a broad public, according to Bonde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“An Important Contribution to Long-Term Climate and Environmental Protection”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Based on the LEGO principle: <\/strong>The <\/strong>membrane filter technology developed by Membion, a company based in Roetgen, functions like a modular system; various modules can be snapped together\u2014ready for use in wastewater treatment at a sewage treatment plant. The company\u2019s founder and CEO, engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul, will receive the German Environmental Prize from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) in 2026, which he will share with environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen.
© Membion GmbH <\/i><\/a><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The environmental lawyer was born in D\u00fcsseldorf in 1972 and grew up in Hamburg, where she studied law, as she did in London and Oslo. As a lawyer, she has always focused on issues arising from climate change and environmental changes. Verheyen sees herself as an \u201cenabler\u201d who strengthens the state\u2019s capacity to act in the face of the climate crisis. To this end, she draws on the full range of legal options available. For example, she serves as an expert witness, drafts legislative proposals, advises policymakers and civil society, and files groundbreaking lawsuits. Her legally sound arguments make \u201can important contribution to long-term climate and environmental protection,\u201d says DBU Secretary General Alexander Bonde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n