Starting signal for Delitzsch large-scale research centre

Delitzsch. Elder and lignum vitae still grow between the old industrial barracks in the centre of Delitzsch. But in future, a chemical research centre with international appeal is to grow on the abandoned site of the old sugar factory: the „Center for the Transformation of Chemistry“ (CTC), which the federal and state governments want to build with more than one billion euros. On Wednesday, Saxony's Regional Development Minister Thomas Schmidt (CDU) handed over an initial funding decision of more than 228,000 euros to District Administrator Kai Emanuel (CDU) and the non-party Lord Mayor Manfred Wilde for the creation of building rights on the 72-hectare site. „This is the first step towards developing the site“, said Emanuel. „We want to make research possible here as quickly as possible.“

At present, the overgrown site is still owned by a private Leipzig investor who is not named. He originally wanted to build flats on the site and create space for private homes, according to reports. The planned purchase of the site still has to go through before construction can begin. However, the authorities are not providing any information on a possible purchase price for the property - a matter for negotiation.

Despite the unresolved ownership issue, concrete planning is now underway for the high-calibre science settlement on the site. A handful of employees from the future CTC have already moved into the neighbouring district administration office to push ahead with the plans. Construction is due to officially begin in early 2026. However, the special-purpose association of the district and city would like to create space for the researchers in the front area of the site, where building rights have long been in place. Under certain circumstances, a clinker brick building from the factory's founding period in 1890 could be renovated and refurbished.

Almost 42 hectares of the former sugar factory are reserved for the large-scale research centre. Other areas could be used by companies, start-ups and service providers who want to collaborate with the researchers. The remaining old brick buildings and the huge cooling tower are to be converted into attractive properties. An S-Bahn station for a direct railway connection to Leipzig and Halle is also to be built. Many concreted and asphalted areas where sugar beet and slag used to be stored are to be unsealed. Whether contaminated sites may still come to light is controversial.

The CTC of the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam won the competition "Knowledge creates perspectives for the region". The scientists led by founding director Professor Peter Seeberger want to develop a new chemical industry that relies on renewable raw materials and recycling and enables a genuine circular economy. The focus is on health and energy, agriculture and consumer goods. In the future, up to 1,000 people will work and conduct research at the CTC, around 700 of them in Delitzsch and 300 in Saxony-Anhalt. Experts from all over the world are being mobilised. By 2038, around 1.2 billion euros from the coal structural change funds will be available for the ultra-modern large-scale research centre. It is a „lighthouse project for a global topic“, said Minister Schmidt. At the same time, the German Centre for Astrophysics (DZA) is being established in Lusatia on a similar scale.

The money for urban land-use planning comes from the new funding programme „RegioPlan“. With this programme, the Free State is supporting local authorities in the planning preparation of large-scale commercial and industrial areas. Of 38 applications, 29 were approved. Delitzsch has now symbolically received the first notification from the programme.

Article in the "Sächsische Zeitung" from 09/08/2023