Award for physicist Thorsten Feichtner
06/02/2026Dr Thorsten Feichtner received the 360° Base Award, endowed with 10,000 euros, for his innovative research project on the production of fertiliser from water and light.
Dr Thorsten Feichtner, habilitation student at the Chair of Experimental Physics 5, received the prize in May 2026 at the Rocketeer Valley Festival in Würzburg. He convinced the jury with an approach that focuses on the production of sustainable fertilisers and came out on top among 60 applicants.
Inspired by photosynthesis, Feichtner's project aims to produce fertiliser from water and air with the help of light. The end product is ammonia, which is considered a basic component of fertiliser. Conventional fertiliser production is currently responsible for two percent of the world's energy requirements and relies on fossil raw materials. Feichtner's innovative concept could save up to three per cent of totalCO2 emissions worldwide.
Nano-optics as the basis for research
Feichtner's area of research is in nano-optics, in which the smallest metal structures focus light in the nanometre range. This extremely concentrated light can then be used in various applications. In the award-winning project, chemical reactions were detected on the surface of the gold nanostructures, which inspired the prizewinner to try this with the synthesis of ammonia, i.e. the production of fertiliser.
Honoured for solving a global problem
The award was established by 360° Base, a start-up and business incubator of Sparkasse Mainfranken, to promote projects that combine scientific depth with a broad view of social impact and have a high potential for future start-up.
The award particularly emphasises projects that think beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. According to the jury, Feichtner's work is characterised by precisely this breadth: it integrates findings from physics with impulses from biology and chemistry and at the same time addresses a central challenge of our time, the high energy demand in fertiliser production. The jury emphasised the fact that it was a solution to a global problem that came directly from Würzburg.
The jury was made up of Renate Dempfle, Managing Director of Mediengruppe Main-Post GmbH, Åsa Petersson, Head of Location Marketing at the City of Würzburg, Daniel Kempf, Managing Director of pd digital, Benjamin Blumberger, Head of Corporate Clients and Jochen Schönleber, Chairman of the Board, both at Sparkasse Mainfranken.
"The award was won against tough competition," says Feichtner. "I am delighted to have been recognised and see it as an incentive to keep pushing ahead with the work." The jury has allocated the prize money to areas where it can have a major leverage effect: In research at the University of Würzburg. With the prize money of 10,000 euros, Thorsten Feichnter can employ a student assistant and have an initial prototype developed. "Based on these results, which are made possible by the award, I can write a larger research proposal and get everything rolling even more. If successful, the aim is to actually create a start-up in the end," adds Feichtner.
The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Würzburg would also like to congratulate Feichtner on his success: "The award underlines the innovative strength of our research and the importance of interdisciplinary approaches," emphasises Professor Jens Pflaum, Dean of the Faculty.
Contact
Dr Thorsten Feichtner, Chair of Experimental Physics 5, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, T +49 931 31-85768, e-mail: thorsten.feichtner@uni-wuerzburg.de
