The newly founded “innovate! lab” gGmbH is a pioneering approach within the German innovation ecosystem. It aims to drive forward the transfer of excellent research results into concrete sustainable materials and technologies in an agile and effective fashion. The Joachim Herz Foundation is funding the development of the “innovate! lab” gGmbH, with the Berlin University Alliance as owner, over a maximum period of four years with a total of up to 5 million euros. The innovate! lab gGmbH will start their transfer approach in Green Chemistry, using greenCHEM, as already working project, as their foundation.
UniSysCat is very pleased about the launch of the new innovate! lab, which marks another milestone in our long-standing commitment to Green Chemistry. As the driving force behind both the greenCHEM consortium and now the innovate! lab, UniSysCat has helped build a unique ecosystem in Berlin for translating Green Chemistry research into innovation. We are delighted that the Joachim Herz Foundation and the Berlin University Alliance have placed their trust in this ecosystem - a trust now reflected in the establishment of the innovate! lab gGmbH.
The transformation of the chemical industry is an essential step towards a sustainable future. The chemical-pharmaceutical industry is the third largest industrial sector in Germany after vehicle construction and mechanical engineering. While e-mobility and green steel are on everyone's lips, the chemical transition to a green, sustainable chemical industry receives hardly any attention.
Due to its strong dependence on the results of basic research, the chemical industry's necessary transition to renewable resources and recyclable products offers good conditions for testing new formats for the transfer of research into practice. “In the “innovate! lab”, the innovation logics of “research push” and “industry pull” are brought together. „In the push area, researchers are specifically supported in transferring their discoveries from cutting-edge research in Green Chemistry into sustainable materials that are needed by society. A particularly strong starting point for the transfer is the research of the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence. It explicitly promotes deep-tech spin-outs in the field of green chemistry with expertise, infrastructure (e.g. the “Chemical Invention Factory - John Warner Center for Start-ups in Green Chemistry” with a total of €20 million - construction is due to start in 2025) and networks. The pull approach supports the chemical industry in finding scientifically sound solutions from the latest cutting-edge research for practical issues in order to bring truly innovative materials to the market. This push-pull concept ensures that all relevant research results can be converted into social benefits and that the development of new materials does not fail to meet real needs.”, explains Martin Rahmel, designated managing director of the innovate! lab gGmbH.
The fully private financing, which is made possible by funding from the Joachim Herz Foundation, and the structure of the gGmbH offer more agile framework conditions with regard to public law restrictions.
“On the one hand, our goal is to overcome systemic hurdles in transfer so that the urgently needed solutions for current technological challenges can be put into practice,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sabine Kunst "On the other hand, we want to understand how complex innovation processes can be effectively promoted. These experiences should lead to sustainable institutional role models that can serve as role models throughout Germany."
The Joachim Herz foundation was founded in Hamburg in 2008 and is one of the largest German foundations. It is committed to innovation and transfer from cutting-edge research so that more research results can be put into practice and generate social benefits. It strengthens start-up ecosystems and supports a new generation of entrepreneurial talent in developing sustainable business models alongside radical innovation.
greenCHEM is an innovation ecosystem in green chemistry that supports the transfer of excellent research into applications. It is funded as part of the transfer program line “T!Raum - TransferRäume für die Zukunft von Regionen”. Characterized by an open culture and equipped with the necessary technical infrastructure, greenCHEM promotes technology transfer and the implementation of creative, forward-looking ideas.