What could a sustainable future look like? This question lies at the heart of the cross-university and cross-cluster project »Green Utopia – made in Green Tech Valley«, which took place for the third time in 2025. The format brings scientific research focused on green transformation to the stage – in concrete terms, as short videos developed in collaboration between researchers from regional universities and students from FH JOANNEUM. The aim is to communicate visions of the future in an accessible and vivid way – without losing sight of scientific reality.

At the closing event on 27 May 2025 at the Hornig Areal, six research teams presented their utopian yet technically grounded ideas. The short videos demonstrate the potential of current projects to think far beyond the status quo:

• Biochar (Dominik Steinberger, TU Graz) explores how biochar can serve as a carbon sink and an integral building material in climate-neutral cities. Buildings store CO₂, regulate moisture and temperature – and themselves become part of climate protection.
• Soil-Nose (Morten Streblow, TU Graz) focuses on AI-assisted systems for analysing alternative fertilisers made from waste products. The “soil nose” detects compositions, improves substrates, and replaces peat in agriculture.
• CarryMeHome (Viktoria Schett, University of Graz) presents a concept for goods transport in car-free cities using (semi-)autonomous trolleys that move goods from A to B in a flexible and sustainable way.
• Ever-Use (Ernst Alexander Dengg, TU Graz) introduces a paradigm shift in timber construction. Instead of viewing buildings as single units, the focus is on durable individual components that can be reused over decades or centuries.
• Magic Bin (Paul Demschar, Montanuniversität Leoben) asks how smart waste separation might work in the future. AI, digital sorting aids, and intelligent containers are intended to help minimise sorting errors – a step towards a more efficient circular economy.
• A New H (Michael Richter, TU Graz/HyCentA) builds on the first European Hydrogen Valley for industrial applications. The vision: regional hydrogen ecosystems, networked into large-scale “Hydrogen Unions”, to secure supply, reduce emissions, and foster economic independence.

Once again, Green Utopia demonstrated how research, visionary thinking, and accessible communication can interact to help actively shape the transition to a greener future. These contributions show that utopias are not pipe dreams but spaces of possibility – when science, technology, and creativity come together.

Impressions from the closing event at the Hornig Areal