GreenTechCH
GreenTech Solutions for Sustainable Cultural Heritage
Developing innovative eco-friendly biocides to protect irreplaceable cultural heritage from biodeterioration — replacing toxic chemicals with plant essential oils and bacterial metabolites.
Preserving Heritage with
Green Science
The Challenge
Cultural heritage objects — books, textiles, paintings, stone monuments, stained glass — face constant threat from biodeterioration caused by microorganisms. Traditional chemical biocides such as benzalkonium chloride and ethylene oxide pose serious risks: environmental toxicity, artefact damage, and growing microbial resistance.
As EU regulations increasingly phase out these compounds, conservators are left without viable alternatives. Physical methods damage substrates, and repeated chemical use drives resistance development — leaving millions of irreplaceable artefacts at risk.
Our Solution
GreenTechCH pioneers the first integrated framework for heritage preservation using eco-friendly biocides — plant essential oils rich in antimicrobial compounds and bacterial metabolites from species like Bacillus subtilis. These biological agents are biodegradable, non-toxic, and organisms show sustained sensitivity to them.
The project delivers comprehensive chemical profiling, heritage-optimised delivery systems (hydrogels, nanoencapsulation, antimicrobial films), synergistic combination protocols, and validated field testing at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and other heritage institutions — creating immediately implementable solutions for conservators worldwide.
Aligned with the EU Green Deal priorities — contributing to reduced chemical pollution and sustainable heritage management practices across Europe.
Our Approach
A three-phase programme moving from laboratory preparation through systematic testing to real-world field validation at a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Building the antimicrobial toolkit
We extract and analytically characterise plant essential oils and cultivate antimicrobial bacterial metabolites, assembling a library of natural candidates. In parallel, we sample and identify the actual microbial communities threatening heritage materials at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum — so we know precisely what we are working against.
Testing what works — and what is safe
The most promising candidates undergo rigorous evaluation: ability to destroy microbial growth on surfaces, synergistic combinations between essential oils, resistance development over repeated exposure, and human safety screening. Only those that pass on every front advance.
From the lab to a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Top candidates are applied to authentic heritage substrates — stone, wood, paper, textiles — first under controlled laboratory conditions, then in field trials at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and other heritage institutions. The result: a validated, ready-to-use protocol backed by real-world performance data.
Interdisciplinary Expertise
Tereza Branysova
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at Lodz University of Technology, specialising in the microbiology of cultural heritage biodeterioration and advanced sequencing techniques.
Prof. Beata Gutarowska
Head of the Department of Environmental Biotechnology at Lodz University of Technology, recognized among the top 5% most-cited authors globally in environmental microbiology.
Prof. Tomasz Ruman
Distinguished researcher in chemistry and biotechnology with extensive expertise in metabolomics, MALDI/SALDI mass spectrometry, and NMR analysis.
Why This Matters
“Heritage objects are not decorative. They are evidence — of events, of craftsmanship, of lives lived. Once destroyed by biodeterioration, that evidence is gone permanently.”
Slow and relentless, biodeterioration is often undetectable until damage is already irreversible. Solving it requires treatments that are both effective and safe to use repeatedly — something existing chemistry has struggled to provide.
Conservators need practical tools, not just research papers.
GreenTechCH is designed from the outset for implementation, not just publication. Field validation at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and other heritage institutions means the resulting protocols are grounded in real-world conditions, not only laboratory data.
Available to every institution, anywhere.
Every publication, dataset, and validated protocol will be freely available. No subscription, no licensing fee. A small heritage institution in any country will have access to the same evidence-based methods as a major national museum.
Latest from the Project
Publications
The project is underway. Three open-access peer-reviewed articles are planned from the testing and field validation phases — all will be freely available the moment they are published.
Upcoming Events
Further conferences will be announced here as the project progresses.
Collaborative Network
Lodz University of Technology
Department of Environmental Biotechnology. HR Excellence in Research awardee and member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). Home to advanced MALDI-TOF MS, chromatography, and microbial cultivation facilities.
Rzeszów University of Technology
Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry. Features cutting-edge Bruker Elute UHPLC coupled with ESI QTOF-MS and unique 2D mass spectrometry imaging capabilities unavailable elsewhere in Europe.
Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum
UNESCO World Heritage Site of profound historical significance. Provides exceptional diversity of authentic heritage materials — stone, wood, textiles, paper, paint layers, and photographs — for comprehensive field validation.
Interested in Collaboration?
We welcome inquiries from heritage professionals, researchers, conservation institutions, and anyone interested in sustainable cultural heritage preservation. Whether you are interested in collaborating, applying our methods, or learning more about the project, we would love to hear from you.
The GreenTechCH project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement no 101272978.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.