AWI Technical Centre: The Shell is Complete

Prof. Dr Antje Boetius, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI): “We’re very much looking forward to this new centre for developers and inventors, which is increasingly taking shape. Technological innovations are essential to good research. Important tools for the future include robotics, sensor systems and their digital components. Especially in the extreme regions of the Antarctic and Arctic, we depend on them. With the aid of testing labs like the diving tanks and ice-core drill facility, we’ll be able to ensure our technologies are ready for use on expeditions. Moreover, the Rasmus Willumsen House will be a meeting place for those engaged in research, engineering and development, since the best ideas are often the result of close collaboration.”

Dr Karsten Wurr, Administrative Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI): “We’re very grateful to the BMBF and the Federal State of Bremen for funding the pioneering project ‘AWI Technical Centre’ with around 17 million euros. We’re also grateful to the City of Bremerhaven for involving us in the planning for the adjacent shipyard quarter and giving us the opportunity to share in its development. The new building will accommodate roughly 40 employees, and some of the AWI’s staff are already using the administrative buildings next to the Technical Centre. In the future, Climate Sciences, one of our three Research Divisions, will have a joint campus here. Thanks to large windows on the ground floor, passers-by will be able to see what the researchers are working on; conceived as an ‘open workshop’, the goal is to foster networking, hopefully throughout the city.”