New Max Rubner Institute facility will enable cutting-edge research in nutrition and food
- PPP contract strengthens HOCHTIEF's leading position in the growing healthcare/biopharma market
- Project enhances Kiel's status as a center of science and combines several institutes
- Highly complex building with special laboratories and maximum safety standards
- Geothermal energy and BNB certification: sustainable operation by HOCHTIEF
HOCHTIEF has been awarded a contract by the Federal Agency for Real Estate (BImA) to build one of Germany's most advanced research facilities in Kiel. The total contract volume for the new Max Rubner Institute (MRI) building is around EUR 230 million. The contract signed today in Berlin stipulates that HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions will have end-to-end responsibility for the design, construction and operation of the facility for 30 years. Completion is scheduled for fall 2028.
HOCHTIEF CEO Juan Santamaría: “This project highlights our strong position in the strategically important growth market of healthcare/biopharma and contributes to further consolidating Germany’s position as a leading research hub. Our ability to combine design, construction, and operation, will allow us to optimize the entire life-cycle of the project to the benefit of the client.
The new center is located in the immediate vicinity of the Christian Albrecht University. It will bring together the Kiel and Hamburg units of the federal research institute. Scientists will work together on an interdisciplinary basis in the building, which has a usable floor space of approximately 6,250 square meters.
Since the institute uses highly sensitive microscopes and measuring instruments, HOCHTIEF will largely decouple the building from its surroundings to protect it from vibrations and shocks. The laboratories for microbiology and food research will meet strict safety requirements. A complex security concept based on the guidelines of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) protects the building and the people who work in it.
When planning the Max Rubner Institute, HOCHTIEF placed great emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency. It meets the federal standards for sustainable construction (BNB) in silver and the EGB 40 efficiency standard. Heat is supplied via near-surface geothermal energy.
HOCHTIEF and its group companies are currently working on numerous research facilities and laboratory buildings, including major projects at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Cleveland, Ohio, and the Universities of Rosenheim and Duisburg-Essen. A few months ago, HOCHTIEF handed over a laboratory building in Schwarzheide to the chemical company BASF.
