With a double groundbreaking ceremony, the Berlin.Industrial.Group. (B.I.G.) and the climate technology startup Ucaneo have kicked off two new pioneering projects in the CleanTech Marzahn industrial area. On the B.I.G. Campus, an office and production building in sustainable timber-hybrid construction as well as one of the largest demonstration plants in Europe for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere will be built. The planning and implementation are being carried out by the Vollack Group, a specialist in energy-efficient construction.

Space for Growth and Innovation
The B.I.G. Campus currently comprises six buildings with offices, workshops, production areas, and a makerspace. Here, B.I.G. companies and startups develop solutions for future industries such as medical technology, mechanical engineering, energy, and environmental protection. With the construction of a seventh building, the five-hectare site continues to grow and will in future offer even more space for the production of Scansonic, the largest B.I.G. company and a market leader in laser technologies, as well as for development and exchange. “We are creating an ecosystem in which world market leaders and young companies work side by side on technological breakthroughs,” says Jan-Marc Lischka, Managing Director of B.I.G. Holding.

The new four-story building in climate-friendly timber-hybrid construction offers around 5,300 square meters of space and sets standards in sustainability with photovoltaics, air heat pumps, thermo-active ceilings, and CO₂-binding materials. “We are building here for future generations,” says Carsten Oschietzky, Partner at Vollack Berlin/Brandenburg. “The architecture creates tailor-made working environments for people working on resource-conserving technologies.”

Climate Protection Made in Berlin-Marzahn
At the same time, Ucaneo’s demonstration plant is being built, which filters CO₂ directly from the air with the help of electrochemical systems. “Our technology works similarly to the human lung – efficiently and continuously at room temperature. We recently demonstrated one of the most energy-efficient processes in the world and are now looking forward to scaling the technology,” explains co-founder and CEO Florian Tiller. With an annual capacity of around 150 tons of CO₂, the plant is one of the most powerful in Europe. It is scheduled to go into operation as early as the beginning of 2026 and paves the way for the first commercial large-scale plant, which is to follow in 2028. The site is also intended to serve as a meeting point for science, business, politics, and the public.

Political Support for the Location
Representatives from politics, business, and associations took part in the groundbreaking ceremony. Dr. Dennis Rendschmidt, Managing Director of VDMA Power Systems, presented Ucaneo with the membership certificate for the association. The district mayor of Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Nadja Zivkovic, emphasized: “The B.I.G. Campus stands for openness to technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurial courage. The fact that climate-conscious construction is taking place here, as well as the establishment of a CO₂ removal plant, shows the enormous potential of Marzahn and of Berlin as a whole as a location for key green technologies.”

At the groundbreaking ceremony, the guests symbolically lowered the time capsule together (from left: Carsten Oschietzky, Partner, Vollack GmbH & Co. KG; Dr. Jan-Marc Lischka, Managing Director, B.I.G. Holding SE; Dr. Florian Albert, Managing Director, Scansonic GmbH; Nadja Zivkovic, District Mayor of Marzahn-Hellersdorf; Carla Glassl, Co-Founder and CTO, Ucaneo Biotech GmbH; Florian Tiller, Co-Founder and CEO, Ucaneo Biotech GmbH; Julian Joswig, Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen; and Dr. Dennis Rendschmidt, Managing Director, VDMA Power Systems). Copyright Berlin.Industrial.Group.

The startup Ucaneo is building one of the largest electrochemical DAC pilot plants in Europe. It will capture up to 150 tons of CO₂ directly from ambient air each year. Copyright THIRD

With its new four-story building in climate-friendly timber-hybrid construction, B.I.G. is focusing on sustainability through photovoltaics, air heat pumps, and CO₂-binding materials. Copyright THIRD