The city of Heidelberg serves as a case study for RUN. After completing the small-scale preliminary studies under laboratory conditions, part of a city quarter in Heidelberg in the order of approximately 100 to 200 inhabitants is chosen. The planned large-scale pilot plant (demonstrator) will then be built in this quarter in a second two-year project phase.

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The demonstrator is to be created under real-time conditions at a location where innovative settlement infrastructures and forms of operation and production meet in the vicinity of agricultural surroundings. The former US barracks site of the Patrick-Henry-Villages (PHV) with its nearby agricultural park is intended and predestined.  

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The local combination of housing and agricultural production offers the best framework for the project. The International Building Exhibition (IBA) Heidelberg supports the location. Given the spatial proximity of the living / supply function and food production in the area of ​​the former barracks site, local urban residents and farmers will come into direct contact.

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Possible partnerships are thus facilitated and consolidated. The pilot plant will also go through analyzes and the results will later be checked for feasibility in the existing urban infrastructure. Thus, the pilot plant serves a dual purpose: showcasing the nutrient cycle as a practical example and generating additional analytical data to further inform the project's direction.