The newly created innovate! lab marks the launch of a pioneering project within the German innovation ecosystem. Its objective is to promote the transfer of excellent research results into sustainable real-world materials and technologies. In addition, the success factors of this approach will be studied by accompanying scientific research. This will allow for continuous optimization of support measures even before the project is complete and unlock insight for future projects.

 “Berlin is one of the best innovation ecosystems in Europe. The close ties between science and industry are crucial to Germany’s innovative strength. There are great opportunities here, particularly in the area of chemical and energy-intensive production. By launching innovate! lab, we are making a further contribution to the country’s economic future,” says Dr. Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science and Research of the State of Berlin.

The Hamburg-based Joachim Herz Foundation is to provide up to 5 million euros total in funding for the innovate! lab over a period of up to four years. “On the one hand, our goal is to overcome systemic obstacles to the transfer process so that the solutions that are so urgently needed for current technological challenges can be put into practice. At the same time, we also want to understand how to support and promote complex innovation processes effectively. The aim is to use these experiences to develop viable institutional role models that can serve as examples throughout the country,” says Prof. Sabine Kunst, Chair of the Board of the Joachim Herz Foundation.

Testing the push-and-pull approach in practice

The chemical industry’s necessary transition to renewable resources and recyclable products offers good conditions for testing new formats for transferring research into practice, due to its strong dependence on the results of basic research.

innovate! lab brings together the “science push” and “industry pull” aspects of innovation logic. This means that results from basic research are transferred into market applications, with industry contributing specific requirements. This approach will be tested on up to ten promising transfer projects in the chemical industry. Measuring success is an integral part of the program, with special focus on the sustainability of the innovations receiving support.

“innovate! lab builds on the excellent research structures we have in Berlin in the field of chemistry, most especially the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence and the greenCHEM consortium it initiated, which is developing an ecosystem for innovation in green chemistry. In the long term, transfer activities from other research areas are to receive support as well. In our role as a network of excellence, we are making a direct contribution to the major transformations of our time,” says Prof. Günter M. Ziegler, spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance and president of Freie Universität Berlin.

Privately financed and agile – gGmbH structure as a model

innovate! lab gGmbH is being founded by the Collaboration Platform of the BUA, a public corporation, as the sole shareholder. The fully private financing, made possible by support from the Joachim Herz Foundation, and the structure of the entity as a nonprofit limited liability company (gGmbH) offer a more agile framework with regard to public-law restrictions.

“The founding of innovate! lab as a wholly owned subsidiary of the network of excellence marks a milestone in Berlin’s ongoing evolution as a leading center of knowledge and innovation. The structure and business model of innovate! lab will provide impetus in Berlin and beyond,” explains Dr. Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz, Managing Director of the Berlin University Alliance.

The Berlin University Alliance

The Berlin University Alliance – the alliance of excellence between Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – is positioning Berlin as one of the world’s leading knowledge and innovation hubs for integrated collaboration across disciplines and sectors of society. Together, this ecosystem contributes to the sustainable success of major transformations. The Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the State of Berlin as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.

The Joachim Herz Foundation

The Joachim Herz Foundation promotes the courage to start over. Founded in Hamburg in 2008, it is one of the largest foundations in Germany today. The foundation is committed to innovation and the transfer of cutting-edge research so that more research results are put into practice and generate social benefits. It strengthens entrepreneurial ecosystems and supports a new generation of entrepreneurial talent in developing sustainable business models alongside radical innovation. By promoting young talent in a professional world that is changing due to AI and the digital transformation, it contributes to the renewal of vocational training and education. The foundation’s goal is to unlock effective solutions for current challenges such as climate action, scarcity of resources and the shortage of skilled workers.

Media contact

• Suhana Reddy, Head of Communication, Berlin University Alliance, email: suhana.reddy@berlin-university-alliance.de
• Sarah Bloch, Joachim Herz Stiftung, Press Officer and Speechwriter, email: SBloch@joachim-herz-stiftung.de