BRYCK Startup Alliance

International start-up tests innovative process in Camphausen as part of the BRYCK WaterHub. SpectroMarine’s expertise and technology will enable real-time analyses in the future.

The collaboration between RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Essen/Germany, start-ups and the BRYCK start-up and innovation centre is entering its next practical phase. While Dutch start-up Acquaint is testing an innovative inspection system for shaft pipelines in the Ruhr area, the focus in Saarland is now on real-time analysis of mine water. The Latvian-Dutch start-up SpectroMarine is providing the technology and expertise for the pilot project at RAG’s Camphausen site in Quierschied/Germany. Whether and how the innovative process proves itself will become clear over the next six months.

Until now, only a few parameters of mine water could be reliably measured on site. For many, there are no immediate results. The mine water must first be sent to a laboratory for analysis. This takes time. SpectroMarine wants to change this and also enable continuous, automatic monitoring directly on site. To this end, the start-up is using intelligent sensor systems with optical measurement technology. With the help of spectral analyses, it should be possible to detect in real time whether the water quality is changing.

So far, the sensors have been used successfully in the inflow of seawater desalination plants. In the first two months of pilot operation, SpectroMarine now wants to prove that the technology also works with the special mine water from the Camphausen central water management system. Based on this, the start-up is testing whether the sulphide content can be determined directly at the shaft. This would be important for controlling the hydrogen peroxide plant and avoiding unnecessary overdosing. Comparative data is provided by the ‘traditional’ RAG water analyses, which continue to be carried out regularly in parallel. If the test phase is successful, the plans envisage a gradual expansion to other RAG sites and measuring points.

To mark the start of the pilot operation, representatives from RAG, SpectroMarine and BRYCK met at the Camphausen mine water treatment plant on 13 November 2025. Openness, partnership and a drive to implement characterised the work on installing the analysis prototype. All sides were enthusiastic about developing solutions. Saarländischer Rundfunk accompanied the kick-off. Speaking to the media representatives, Svenja Weinand from RAG’s Mine Water Planning/Concepts department (T-WH-GK) emphasised the importance of real-time water analysis: “When a full analysis of the water is carried out, a sampler has to go to the sampling point, transfer the water into sample bottles and take it to the laboratory. There it is analysed. Then the data has to come back to us.” Depending on the scope of the analysis, this can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Only with live values can RAG react quickly to changes in mine water.

With regard to the cooperation between RAG, BRYCK and start-ups, Torben Stallmann, BRYCK WaterHub, says: “When we talk about innovation in the water sector, this is exactly what we mean: recognising potential, enabling it and finally implementing it. Together with RAG, the start-up and our team at WaterHub, we are creating the conditions under which new solutions for the water world can emerge – step by step, very close to practical application.”

On 23rd July 2025, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche named the BRYCK Startup Alliance a German Startup Factory. The decision was announced during an awards ceremony at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) in Berlin/Germany. The consortium from the Ruhr region impressed a prominent jury in the BMWE’s nationwide EXIST flagship competition Startup Factories. As a result, the BRYCK Startup Alliance will receive millions in funding to establish a European deep tech hotspot in the Ruhr region.

The BRYCK Startup Alliance will receive multi-year funding of up to 10 M € and has set itself the goal of accelerating groundbreaking deep tech innovations in Germany and establishing a powerful, university- and industry-oriented start-up centre with international appeal. This will not only strengthen the Ruhr region as a start-up location – it will also make it a model region for Germany’s industrial future.

Philipp Herrmann, Managing Director of the BRYCK Startup Alliance: “This decision is historic. It is an opportunity to reinvent the Ruhr region – from an industrial heritage to a future powerhouse of Europe. With the Startup Factory, Germany’s new industrial engine is being created here – focused on deep tech and supported by genuine regional strength.”

The BRYCK Startup Alliance combines the strengths of the Ruhr region: the highest density of universities in Europe and the economic power of one of Europe’s most important industrial locations. It is based on a strong regional alliance between science, industry and capital: with the University Alliance Ruhr, three German universities with strong research capabilities (Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund, University of Duisburg-Essen) are key partners in the network.

On the industrial side, the Initiativkreis Ruhr economic alliance of over 70 leading regional companies and institutions is involved. RAG-Stiftung contributes to the alliance with the BRYCK innovation and start-up centre it initiated, its strong network and private-sector capital.

Bernd Tönjes, Chairman of RAG-Stiftung, comments on the decision: “With its designation as a Startup Factory, the BRYCK Startup Alliance has become a visible symbol of the new dawn in the Ruhr region. The project stands for renewal and transformation, for inventiveness and entrepreneurial strength. Being selected as a Startup Factory confirms the path we embarked upon with the launch of BRYCK – and demonstrates the great potential that exists here.”

On behalf of the University Alliance Ruhr, the rectors Prof. Barbara Albert from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Manfred Bayer from the Technical University of Dortmund and Prof. Martin Paul from the Ruhr University Bochum add: “This decision is a milestone for the BRYCK Startup Alliance and the University Alliance Ruhr. Together, we can demonstrate the potential that lies in close cooperation between science, industry and start-ups – and how universities can actively contribute to industrial transformation in Germany.”

Guido Kerkhoff, moderator of the Initiativkreis Ruhr: “With the BRYCK Startup Alliance, a new centre for innovation and entrepreneurship is emerging in the Ruhr region – supported by strong regional solidarity. The Initiativkreis Ruhr is contributing the strength of its more than 70 partner companies to actively shape this change and further strengthen the industrial heart of Germany.”

The BRYCK Startup Alliance aims to establish a powerful startup factory in the heart of the Ruhr region over the next five years. Various agendas are planned for the different phases of company formation, including scalable accelerator agendas for deep tech start-ups. At the same time, access to growth capital for spin-offs will be significantly improved through structured access to over 10 bn € in venture capital. The historic, listed Colosseum, a former industrial hall in Essen, will become the home of the BRYCK Startup Alliance. The goal is to mobilise at least 1,000 spin-offs, over 200 scaling deep tech start-ups and over 1 bn € in venture capital in the ecosystem by 2030. (BRYCK Startup Alliance/Si.)