Dr. Brill + Partner News Center

On the 3rd of March, Bernd Daehne and Lukas Kuhn from the Brill Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion once again took part in a cleaning initiative of Norderney's beaches. The campaign was carried out together with the local BUND district group and the pupils of the 7th grade of the "Kooperative Gesamtschule Norderney". A total of 880 kg of trash was collected. The largest and heaviest part was made up of four fishing nets.

ICEBIO is a PhD network that will train the next generation of experts in glacier microbiology and biogeochemistry. ICEBIO will provide a database of the functional diversity and potential of the glacier biome, which will not only greatly improve our understanding of a threatened biome, but also demonstrate the potential for exploiting economic and ecological services. Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH will, among other things, provide a risk assessment regarding pathogenic organisms from the glacier biome, including the inclusion of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Further Information: https://www.icebio.eu/pages/project/index.html The ICEBIO Doctoral Network is supported by a grant from the European Commission’s MSCA Doctoral Network program under project number 101072761

This year's "Biocides Europe" of Chemical Watch will take place from November 30th, 2022 to December 1st, 2022 in Vienna.  Our managing director Dr. Florian H. H. Brill will give an exciting presentation on December 1st, 2022 at 15:55 titled: "Efficacy evaluation of disinfectants PT 1 to 5, PT 21 and treated articles PT 10 based on current development and Echa efficacy guidance including biofilm-activity testing". Also our Director of Antifouling Research Station on Norderney, Bernd Daehne will give a lecture on December 1st, 2022 10:22 a.m. with the title: The Blue Angel ecolabel approach to antifouling The full program of Biocides Europe 2022 can be found here: https://events.chemicalwatch.com/487652/biocides-europe-2022/programme/?dayID=562465  

On our Vimeo account you can now find a new video, explaining everything about our biocorrosion division. We are experts in experiments that use specialized test methods to investigate the biocorrosion of various materials such as concrete and steel. We test sediments to determine the risk of microbially induced corrosion and conduct material tests of concrete compounds in cooperation with the Frauenhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT. The services we offer also include damage clarification to determine whether the corrosion was microbially induced.

Dr. Brill+Partner GmbH is overly excited to participate in the european funded project CRM-geothermal (Raw materials from geothermal fluids: occurrence, enrichment, extraction) and to contribute our expertise to secure the supply of rare raw materials for Europe in a medium to long term perspective.  You can find all details about the project HERE

On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion of Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH has worked on a research project in cooperation with Hydrotox GmbH to develop award criteria for an eco-label (Blue Angel) for biocide-free antifouling products.  These award criteria can now be found online on the UBA website: https://www.blauer-engel.de/de/zertifizierung/vergabekriterien#UZ221-2022. Our colleagues on Norderney will be pleased to assist with the necessary efficacy tests. 

Our Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion on Norderney has changed the location at the Norderney harbor by a few hundred meters.  The new address is: Am Hafen 6, DE - 26548 Norderney. The colleagues can now keep an eye on the ship traffic but also on the test objects at any time and are even closer to the fresh seawater for tests in the aquariums or for the current development of the "Mini-RotoMarin".  

The storm surge Zeynep has raged in the night from Friday (18.02.22) to Saturday also on Norderney and caused a high water of 2.28 m. Our premises remained undamaged, only our garage was under water.  On the video you can see our new location in the background and at the lifeboat one of our storage pontoons. However, pontoon and test plates were well moored and survived the storm well.

We are pleased and proud to announce that the Dr. Brill Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion has been accredited by the German Accreditation Body DAkkS according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 for its antifouling tests at the Norderney site since January 2022. We are thus the first institute in Europe whose already known competence has now also officially proven its expertise through the state competence determination procedure. Here you will find the certificate confirming this and the procedures for which our institute has been accredited. These are static and dynamic tests in Rotomarin® of biocide-free and biocide-containing antifouling systems for ships, harbor and offshore structures, as well as the barnacle quick test developed by us. With the accreditation, our customers can now be sure that our data will find international recognition e.g. in approval processes or also the upcoming Blue Angel for environmentally friendly antifouling products. The team on site around Bernd Daehne has done an excellent job in close cooperation with the QM team to reach this milestone. If you have any questions about this or would like to request a quote, our familiar contacts are available to help. Here you can find an overview of our other certificates.

With the recruitment of the new laboratory manager Dr. Mashal Alawi as of April 1, 2021, we have gained a proven expert in the molecular biological analysis of environmental and human samples. He immediately established a molecular biology laboratory in the S2 area in Bremen with his new team. Now we are ready to offer comprehensive services. These are e.g. microbiome analyses using Next-Generation Sequencing techniques (NGS), identification of microorganisms and viruses (metagenomes and sangers) and quantification of microorganisms and fungi by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Applications of the methods are in the business areas of cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, biocorrosion and biofilm formation. Details can be found under "Molecular Biology".

Since December 2021 the Institute for Antifouling + Biocorrosion has a new location for simulated field tests in the Red Sea. With the collaboration of the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat (Israel) of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, test panels can be immersed statically and inspected monthly. The Red Sea is known as a famous destination for divers and the most northerly coral reef with a stunningly diverse marine life. Thus it is very suitable for antifouling testing in summer and winter.  

On September 24, the Norderney team of Dr. Brill + Partner participated in a beach cleanup for this year's "International Coastal Cleanup" organized by BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland). This is the largest voluntary marine conservation campaign in the world and took place in over 100 countries worldwide. With the help of two school classes of the seventh grade of the KGS Norderney, trash was collected for one morning in the national park at the beaches in the east of Norderney. The Brill employees also acted as leaders of the small groups of students. Against the background of the current discussion about plastic and microplastics in the sea, Dr. Brill and his Norderney team wanted to get actively involved. The campaign was a complete success: A lot of trash was collected and the Norderney school cohort was sensitized to this issue!