Global Exploration Fund

Joint research fund set up by National Geographic and Bayer

National Geographic Deutschland and Bayer AG challenged scientists in 2005 to develop innovative ideas to protect drinking water. Nine projects have been selected which are financed from the “Global Exploration Fund,” with a total of EUR 250,000 available.

The lack of fresh water is one of the greatest problems facing humanity throughout the world, with 1.3 billion people today already having no access to clean drinking water. This joint research fund aims to develop new methods to produce and treat drinking water. “The projects funded by us treat water using various methods, chemical, physical and biological. In the end, there is always concrete help for people who don't have access to clean drinking water,” says Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG responsible for Innovation, Technology, and Environment. It is important that the water treatment can be carried out without complex equipment or specialist knowledge. Klaus Liedtke, editor-in-chief of National Geographic Deutschland, is particularly impressed with the “slanting hose process:” “This mobile unit for water treatment can be rapidly deployed in disaster areas and converts dirty water into clean drinking water within a few hours.”

$The \"slanting hose process\" was invented by Prof. Dietrich Maier from Karlsruhe.$

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The “slanting hose process” was invented by Prof. Dietrich Maier from Karlsruhe. His idea is simple: A plastic hose, lying on a slope, is filled with 1,000 liters of dirty water. Using three filter stages, dirty water is transformed into drinking water in just a few hours. “Anyone can use it,” says Maier enthusiastically. “We tried it out with children in Morocco.” The process already provided valuable aid following the tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka.

An overview of the research projects selected

Research into groundwater as a habitat;
University of Koblenz; Hans Jürgen Hahn
Development of a mobile water treatment unit (slanting hose process);
Center for Water Research in Karlsruhe; Dietrich Maier
Cleaning of drinking water with UV light and ultrasound, Pakistan;
University of Hamburg; Heinrich Hühnerfuss
Microbiological removal of arsenic from drinking water, Bangladesh;
University of Tübingen; Andreas Kappler
Rainwater and freshwater management, Ethiopia;
University of Münster; Rainer Mohn
Research into water-conserving plant communities, Argentina;
University of Trier; Karsten Schittek
Design of mist catchers, Peru;
RWTH Aachen University; Kai Tiedemann
Article in report - The Bayer Company Magazine (PDF, 3.4 MB)
Plant filtration systems for permafrost soil, Siberia;
University of Bremen; Jörg F. Venzke
Optimization of ancient systems (quanats) for groundwater distribution, Greece;
University of Salzburg; Herbert Weingartner