Institute of Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects at Humboldt-University Berlin (IASP)
The Institute for Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects at the Humboldt University Berlin (IASP) is an interdisciplinary research institution under the legal and economic sponsorship of the non-profit Association for Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects (A.S.P.). The IASP was founded in 1996 as a private institute at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin ("An-Institute"). In terms of the classification of East German research structures, the IASP is a non-profit "external industrial research institution" and as such sees itself as a scientific partner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those without their own research capacities. It is also a partner for numerous institutes of universities and scientific institutions in Germany and abroad and thus fulfils a bridging function at the interface between university research on the one hand and social or entrepreneurial application on the other. The IASP has particular expertise in the establishment and management of international and national research networks. On an international scale, for example, the Institute is the coordinator of the European-Latin American Centre for Logistics and Ecological Projects (CELALE); on a national level, the IASP coordinates various joint projects.
Cologne Institute for Business Research (IW)
The IW is supported by employers and industrial associations as well as private companies. Based on academic research it publishes analyses and opinions on economic and social policy issues, on education and vocational training, and on a variety of societal developments. A distinctive feature of the IW is the close interrelation between academic research and public relations activities by the institute´s own publishing house, the Deutsche Instituts-Verlag GmbH. The scientists of the research unit ”Environment, Energy, Resources” look into the impact of economic activity on the environment and the impact of environmental and energy policy on the economy.
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWi)
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWi), as a supreme authority of the Federal Government, performs legislative, administrative and coordinating functions for the Federal Republic of Germany, for example in energy, industrial and innovation policy as well as in competition, SME and European policy. Its central task is to secure lasting prospects for employment, investment and growth in Germany with a forward-looking economic policy. The guiding principle for this is a policy based on the principles of the social market economy. Essential fields of action for the Ministry are the support and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, stimulating and accompanying investments and innovations, maintaining and expanding the international competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location, and creating the necessary framework conditions. In doing so, it is also responsible for ensuring that important challenges of our time such as digitalisation, the effects of demographic change, the energy transition and other economic transformation processes for climate protection and a secured prosperity and growth also in the future are adequately addressed and taken into account. The increased attention and commitment paid to this growing range of tasks is reflected by the Ministry's most recent name change into Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is responsible for various policy areas in the Federal Republic of Germany, essential ones of which are reflected in the naming of the ministry. Until 1986, three different ministries within the Federal Government were responsible for environmental concerns: the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health. Then, in the middle of the same year, a single government authority for the federal environmental policy was created for the first time, the then Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). In the course of the following decades, additional responsibilities were temporarily transferred to the authority, such as including urban development, housing, rural infrastructure, public building law, construction as well as federal buildings, which also led to name changes thoughout the years (e.g. BMUB between 2013 and 2018). At present, the ministry is also responsible for consumer protection policy and therefore uses the extended abbreviation BMUV. For more than 30 years now its main task has remained unchanged however: to ensure the protection of the population from environmental toxins and radiation, the wise and economical use of raw materials, the protection of the climate and the use of natural resources in a way that preserves the diversity of animal and plant species and their habitats. A key responsibility is to prepare legislation in order to design the legal framework in the areas of responsibility. This also includes shaping regulatory law and transposing EU directives into national law. Furthermore, this includes the financial promotion of research and development, support for the market introduction of innovative technologies, cooperation at national and international level, and communication for broad social participation and acceptance in the protection and careful use of the environment and resources.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research as a supreme federal authority has the central task of concretely shaping and supporting the policies and objectives of the Federal Government in maintaining and promoting education, science and research in Germany. In doing so, it is largely responsible for drafting the legislation in these areas. General school education, vocational education and qualification and the promotion of training make up priority areas in this context. On the other hand, the BMBF provides financial support for research in all areas of science, as well as for young scientists and international exchange in training, continuing education and studies. Already for decades, the ministry has put a focus on researching and developing promising and clean technologies in order to secure the economic and social foundations for the country's future. The BMBF specifically supports processes of ecological, economic and social change, for example through the program "Research for Sustainable Development" (FONA). For the technical and administrative supervision of research projects, the ministry works together with the so-called project management agencies, including the DLR project management agency, the Jülich project management agency or the VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik project management agency.
German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH)
The purpose of the ZDH is to reach a consensus on all major issues in crafts policy. It represents the overall interests of the skilled crafts sector vis-à-vis the Bundestag, the Federal Government and other central authorities, the European Union and international organisations. The German Confederation of Chambers of Skilled Crafts (DHKT) and the German Association of Skilled Crafts Confederations (UDH) are confederated in the ZDH. ZDH is getting involved in national initiatives committing to energy efficient building and refurbishment and electro mobility.
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO)
The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO develops strategies, business models and solutions for the digital transformation together with companies, institutions and public sector organisations. In close collaboration with large as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, the potential of new technologies such as cognitive computing, blockchain, autonomous driving and IoT platforms is tapped in order to use them for product innovations, process improvements or new business models. Colleagues from various disciplines work together in interdisciplinary teams: from business and economics, computer science, engineering and social science as well as natural science. The Fraunhofer IAO and her partner institute – the Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management (IAT) house demonstration centres as well as a development and test laboratories in addition to their office space. Combined, Fraunhofer IAO and the IAT employ more than 600 people.
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Stuttgart
The DLR pursues scientific, economic and social aims. It wants to make its contribution to secure and design the future by means of air and space travel. The efficient transfer of innovations and know-how from air and space travel to industrial production has a high priority for the DLR. The individual projects of the DLR are divided in superordinate program directorates for aeronautics, space flight and energy technology. The offers and services of the DLR are especially directed to small and medium-size companies. In its strategic orientation, DLR focuses on integrating the potential of national and international endeavors involving partners from research institutions and industry.
German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
The VDA nationally and internationally promotes the interests of the entire German automotive industry. Its members consist of automobile manufacturers, suppliers and manufacturers of trailers, special bodies and buses. In the interest of all its members, the VDA is active in all areas of the motor traffic industry like economic and transport policy, technical legislation, quality assurance and taxation. The Environment Department focuses not only on general environmental protection issues like emissions but also environmental protection requirements on the production side.
MoWiN.net network and Mobility Cluster North Hesse
The MoWiN.net network and the mobility cluster form the regional platform for cooperation and innovation in the mobility industry in North Hesse. Today, MoWiN.net pursues the common interests of almost 130 companies, institutions and research facilities and addresses all stakeholders from business, science and administration who are active in the logistics, automotive/vehicle construction, electromobility, railway technology, mobility management and public transport systems sectors. Network members, politicians and interested parts of the public are informed about the network's activities and concerns via online services and regular print magazines. Network meetings organised several times a year are aimed at all interested parties from the mobility industry who would like to take part in company visits, presentations and subsequent exchanges in an open atmosphere. A central motivation of MoWiN.net e.V. is to further strengthen the mobility industry as an essential economic factor under the principle "Achieving more by working together". Through a multitude of projects and their coordination, regional actors are brought together and their common needs are bundled, implemented and jointly advertised.
University of Applied Sciences Zwickau
The Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau (WHZ) sees itself as the university for mobility. Its origins lie in the Zwickau School of Engineering, founded in 1897, which became the Zwickau University of Technology in 1989 and was reestablished as a University of Applied Sciences in 1992. The university is devoted to Technology, Economics, Arts, and Life Sciences, comprising of 8 faculties that offer around 50 different degree programmes today. The university's close ties to industry make it particularly attractive to students, and excellent successes have also been achieved in applied research. Projects such as the development of a service data goggle application for production, the production of capacitive energy storage devices with extremely high charge carrier density, the development of an automated plug-in system for electric public transport, the construction of a measurement and test vehicle for the safety inspection of rural roads or the use of saline mine waters for the recovery of recyclable materials combine the tradition in engineering education, which has already lasted over a century, with the requirements of the future. At present, the WHZ is established on three main locations, these are Zwickau, Reichenbach and Schneeberg in the Free State of Saxony.
University of Rostock, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Engineering
Founded in 1419, the University of Rostock is one of the oldest universities in Germany and offers a full range of courses. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Engineering with its versatile study programmes is a powerful hub for practice-oriented engineering education. The faculty's research focuses include biomedical engineering, energy and fluid mechanics, maritime systems, production engineering, mechatronics and propulsion technology as well as applied mechanics and materials engineering. In October 1992, the Chair of Maritime Engineering was established. It emerged from the Chair of Fisheries Engineering, which was founded in 1968, making the University of Rostock one of the oldest teaching and research institutions in the field of marine engineering in Germany. The work essentially focuses on methods for designing offshore systems as well as unmanned underwater vehicles and systems. In connection with ensuring a guaranteed service life of underwater systems, experimental analyses of material ageing of polymer materials under marine operating conditions are also part of the research portfolio. The research orientation of the Chair of Piston Engines and Internal Combustion Engines, meanwhile, focuses on its traditional strengths, such as research into the use of alternative fuels in internal combustion engines, laser-optical injection spray analyses and the analysis of emission-reducing measures on large and marine diesel engines. The aim of his work is to advance research in the field of combustion engines with renewable energies such as biodiesel or gas and to drastically minimise exhaust emissions.
Verband kommunaler Unternehmen e.V. (VKU)
The Verband kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU) represents the interests of the municipal utility and waste management industry in Germany vis-à-vis politics and society. The VKU unites about 1,500 companies and associations from the energy supply, the water supply and sewage, waste management and municipal cleaning. The VKU offers information days, seminars and conferences on all relevant topics.
Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW)
The Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) is a supreme technical-scientific authority organised under the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV). It acts as a central service provider for advising and supporting the Ministry and the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) within the scope of their transport water engineering tasks, in particular their responsibility for construction supervision to ensure that all facilities and installations on federal waterways meet the requirements of safety and order. It also makes an important contribution to ensuring that the waterways in Germany meet the growing technical, economic and ecological requirements. To this end, it has extensive expertise and experience in the field of hydraulic engineering and plays a key role in the further development of this segment. The BAW is subdivided into the specialist areas of civil engineering, geotechnics, inland hydraulic engineering, coastal hydraulic engineering and marine engineering. Dealing with the ageing waterway infrastructure, the increased ecological requirements in hydraulic engineering, the consequences of climate change, digitalisation in civil engineering, new propulsion technologies in navigation and automation in inland navigation belong to the key challenges the BAW has to cope with at present days and in future.
German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG)
The Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) is the federal scientific institute for research, assessment and advice in the fields of hydrology, water use, water quality, ecology and water protection. Organised under the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV), it advises the federal ministries, waterways and navigation administration and third parties on these topics. As modern supreme technical-scientific authority, it takes on the task of shaping actively and in a responsible manner the future use of flowing and coastal waters in Germany and Europe. Equipped with 13 specialist departments and the necessary infrastructure, scientific findings are condensed into meaningful scenarios, well-founded forecasts are prepared and solutions are developed and proposed for policy-makers and administrations. In cooperation with various partners, the BfG is thus intensively involved in national and European events concerning the topic of water. Through the affiliated UNESCO Centre for Water Resources and Global Change, the work for the international hydrological programmes of UNESCO and WMO as well as the global data centres, the BfG is also integrated into fundamental advisory, research and development programmes worldwide.
Regional Competence Network Water and Energy
Institutes and companies from the water, wastewater and renewable energy value chains have bundled their competences, experience and technologies with the aim of developing customised system solutions, realising corresponding projects and to facilitate the technical exchange of information and promotion of young talent. Beneficiaries of this initiative shall be the network partners and the region as a whole. The resulting competence network offers numerous services that can be accessed via the network partners. This provides mutual support and encouragement among the network members, but gives non-members also the opportunity to access the exclusive services of the network. Initiatives that have been brought together in this way include the ENERGY EFFICIENCY NETWORK HOCHFRANKEN and the HO/KU/WUN mobility network formed for the region around Hof, Kulmbach and Wunsiedel. The network initiatives participate in funding through the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment.
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), BAM is responsible for testing, research and consulting for the protection of humans and the environment in the fields of energy, infrastructure, environment, materials and analytical sciences. With the help of expert reports, certified reference materials and interlaboratory tests, BAM checks safety and quality standards. In addition, BAM is responsible for the admission of substances, technical products and plants.
