VOL 03 | 12.2008
INVEST IN GERMANY MAGAZINE The global IT giant IBM is well-known for its innovativ
Nano Makes It Big xxx
Welcome Address
In May 2008, Invest in Germany signed a cooperation agreement with the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), with the goal of achieving closer cooperation with the AHKs. The AHKs now serve as the official representative of Invest in Germany in 120 locations in 80 countries on five continents: identifying markets, potential investors, and serving as a central contact point for companies interested in Germany. Together we are producing publications, appearing at events, and working on investor inquiries. Seeing the cooperation between Invest in Germany and the AHKs succeed so early in our formal relationship gives us hope that we can maximize Germany’s potential to our clients. Given today’s difficult economic climate, this task is especially imperative. Yet there are silver linings in these uncertain times. When we work together as Invest in Germany and the AHKs then Germany’s advantages are easily recognized: a stellar workforce, dense infrastructure, stable
labor costs, first-class R&D landscape, and the quality of the “made in Germany” label that has kept Germany the world’s number one exporter for six years running.
Success Story
Industry Report
Innovative Germany
Germany’s Japanese Carbon Fiber Star................................... 3 Powering the Giants of the Sea............. 4 The Rebirth of a Legend: TA Triumph-Adler....................................5
Germany’s Pharma Sector in Robust Good Health........................... 17 A Peek in the Powerhouse.............. 18/19 The German Recycling Boom...............20
Innovation News............................. 28/29 The Artificial Diamond Heart............... 30
Cover Story
Germany’s Making IT Greener............ 21 Sisters Are Doing IT for Themselves............................... 22/23 Mayor’s Hobby Brings World-Class Business to Windhagen.........................24
The recent investor conference in Santiago 6 de Chile, ExpoAlemania, allowed us to promote Germany to potential investors and interested visitors. The event went very well, all the more so because we received a surprise visit from Dr. Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile. Our partners at the German Chamber of Commerce in Santiago (AHK Chile) deserve credit for this success. This is just one example of the cooperation that takes place every day between Invest in Germany and the German Chamber Network (AHKs)13 all over the world.
Size Isn’t Everything..................... 6/7/8/9 Current Issues
GmbH Reform Gives Germany a Match for the “Limited”......................10 Renewable Energies Power New German Climate Program............ 11 Foreign Direct Investment
Chinese Investors Discover the Advantages of Germany...................12/13 2008 Investment Highlights....... 14/15/16
German Business
Top Science and Research Location
Adlershof:
We are also optimistic for the coming year since we will have a new name and a different task in the New Year. On January 1, 2009, Invest in Germany and the German Office for Foreign Trade (bfai) will merge to form Germany Trade and Invest. The new company will be the “onestop shop” for all German trade and investment activities, will be able to better serve our clients – helping foreign businesses engaged in the German market while also supporting German companies develop foreign markets. We very much look forward to this task. We wish you a peaceful, happy, and prosperous 2009!
Michael Pfeiffer, Managing Director
The Aging Society
Senior Consumers in the Fast Lane.................................... 31 About Us
ExpoAlemania 2008.............................. 32 Japan-Germany Industry Forum........ 33 Germany and the Germans
The Numbers Tell the Story................. 34 On the cover:
On the Runway to Success................... 25 Plasma Technology Opens Up New Dimensions........... 26/27
Proteins for surfaces. The spherical spores that produce the Emericella nidulans mold fungus for dispersion are covered with a thin film of the hydrophobin protein. Hydrophobins are waterrepellent and could therefore be used for technical applications, such as removing oil pollution from lakes and rivers. © Pressefoto BASF
Director Public Relations: Eva Henkel Editor: Eva Forinyak Language Editor: William MacDougall Design: www.typoly.de (Art: Inken Greisner) Litho: Dietsche & Gebhardt, Berlin Print: Medialis Offsetdruck GmbH, Berlin
Distribution: Invest in Germany Magazine is jointly distributed in North America and Asia by the Financial Times Group with its “FDI Magazine” and solely distributed by the publisher in the rest of the world. No reprints may be made without the prior consent of the editors. They reserve the right to publish or shorten readers’ letters. The publication is based on information accessible to the public that the editors consider to be reliable. However, they assume no liability for the accuracy of such information. Articles published under specific names do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors.
Publisher: Invest in Germany GmbH Friedrichstraße 60 10117 Berlin T. +49 30 200 099-0 F. +49 30 200 099-111 office@invest-in-germany.com www.invest-in-germany.com Managing Director: Michael Pfeiffer Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Michael Glos, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology
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Photo: Christian Hüller
Imprint
Success Story
Tenax® Carbon Fiber
Germany’s Japanese Carbon Fiber Star Ten times stronger than steel, ultra-light and energy efficient… a new era has dawned in the carbon fiber industry, and Toho Tenax is riding the crest of the wave in Europe. The stranglehold being exerted by soaring oil prices and the push for greener planes and cars is seeing manufacturers increasingly turn to carbon fiber. Toho Tenax is one of three Japanese companies – who together have a 70 percent hold over the world’s carbon fiber production – at the helm of this industry. Spanning the globe from its Tokyo headquarters to production plants in Germany and the US, Toho Tenax employs 1,300 employees worldwide. Production lines roll right round the clock – 360 days a year.
Tenax® carbon fiber in racing
But Europe’s voracious appetite for carbon fiber is focused on industry. Since 1996, Europe’s consumption in this sector has increased tenfold. This is why Toho Tenax is expanding and investing in Germany. Toho Tenax expects worldwide aerospace and industry demand to grow by a hefty 15 percent per year over the next 10 years. For example, in Europe, that means more demand for blades used on wind farms and high-scale generators. But the boom is expected after 2010, when the motor industry moves from aluminum to carbon composites for car bodies and parts. All of which makes Germany, and specifically North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) an even more valuable location for Toho Tenax. This comes as little surprise to NRW, which has long nurtured its relationship with Japan. Over 500 Japanese companies are now based there, employing around 30,000 people.
Right bang in the center of one of Europe’s most industrialized areas, Oberbruch Industry Park was a natural home for Toho Tenax. One of a group of chemical parks with highly affordable property prices supported by Invest in Germany, it now caters nearly exclusively to foreign companies. The “plug and play” maxim at Oberbruch means investors need not worry about red tape or logistics. Power is available on tap from the on-site Nuon plant and the infrastructure is first-class. Toho Tenax began production here in 1986, and the company hasn’t looked back. Just two years ago, the Oberbruch factory switched on a third production line, nearly doubling output. Another EUR 51 million has now been earmarked for a fourth production line, which will roll into action in August 2009. The park has an ample 110 hectares, but fortunately for Toho Tenax Europe’s managing director, Eckard Scholten, there still remains sufficient room for growth. “We are not at the end of our plans for further expansion here,” says Mr. Scholten. “Carbon fiber worldwide is in short supply, so companies in this industry will need to keep up with demand.”
Photo: Toho Tenax Europe GmbH
Industry and aerospace make up the company‘s most lucrative customers, chief among them Airbus. Carbon fiber has helped revolutionize the structure of the latest Airbus jumbo jet, the A380. The extensive use of carbon composites in the aircraft have created a lighter, stronger airplane that consumes less fuel – all without compromising safety. And it’s not just aerospace and industry that are getting in on the act.
The sports and leisure segment, racing cars, helmets, bicycles and even tennis rackets, fishing rods and skis have been upgraded with carbon fiber. The list is endless.
Tenax® carbon fiber for reinforcing civil engineering and for “reducing the weight” of freight vehicles
Success Story
Powering the Giants of the Sea
The AIDAdiva cruiser is powered by four Caterpillar engines
Caterpillar has witnessed massive increases in demand for its prized MaK engines. Now it’s investing millions in its Kiel and Rostock facilities to meet demand.
But before we talk about the present, let’s take a brief jump back in time to the recent past. Until 1997, the company was known as Maschinenbau Kiel and was famous the world over for its MaK engines. In 1997, the US-based Caterpillar Inc. acquired the company. The company’s factories in Kiel and Rostock manufacture medium-speed four-stroke diesel and gas engines for propulsion, such as those used in ships as well as generator set applications in factories. Even after its acquisition, the company’s numbers have continued to climb. In 2003, 250 engines left the company’s production halls (total production numbers including Kiel, Rostock and Guangdong production sites).
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Just three years later, the number had shot up to 420, and last year it reached a record 519, bringing in over EUR 540 million in turnover. In some ways, the Kiel factory was not ready for this sudden increase in demand. “At the time,” says company head Hans E. Timm, “our deliveries weren’t even able to keep up with market demand.” In fact, the company has had some production lines running 24/7 with a complex system of 18 shifts. In the end, Timm was forced to admit: “In the mid-term, if we don’t make some investments now, we’re going to have to give up our market position.” And investing it is. Over the next four years, the company plans to invest EUR 200 million to erect ultra-modern production halls, reorganize production lines and add at least 70 employees to its staff of 1,290. “We want to be able to manufacture twice as many engines as we do now – 1,000 pieces,” Timm says. Kiel is not the only focus of the company’s ambition. Its smaller sister facility at Rostock – known as Dieselmotorenwerk Rostock until it was acquired in 1999 – will also receive EUR 50 million in investments for production hall expansion, new equipment purchases and expanded testing facilities.
CAT C32 Marine Engine on the ZPS Testbed
The facility currently has around 140 employees producing approximately 150 engines per year for luxury cruise ships, cargo and container ships, and ferries. The improvements are expected to increase its output by 300 percent in addition to creating at least 100 new jobs. “The company has now developed into one of the most important manufacturers of ship engines,” says Jürgen Seidel, the minister for economics for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. “Our state’s supply industry will also benefit from this expansion.” But it’s not just the local – or even Germany’s – economy that will benefit. When the new “Queen Elizabeth” super-luxury cruise ship leaves its berth in 2010, for example, over 2,000 passengers onboard will have Caterpillar Motoren to thank for the ship’s massive and beautiful wake.
Photos: AIDA Cruises; www.mak-global.com Photo:
Next time you see a mammoth cruise ship or ferry gliding effortlessly across the horizon, take a moment to mentally peel away the ship’s exterior and imagine its enormous engines. Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is one of the world’s top three manufacturers of such engines. Normally to be found in oceangoing, commercial and pleasure craft, they can reach astronomical heights of up to six meters and weights over 215 tons. And for the Kielbased company, times are very, very good.
Success Story
The Rebirth of a Legend: TA Triumph-Adler After years of operating in the shadow of its former greatness, TA Triumph-Adler took a gamble on reinventing itself. It’s been a success that’s hard to duplicate. In 2001, TA Triumph-Adler was in a bad position. But with a new manager, mindset and partner, the company has established a fresh identity – and shot back into the black. TA’s history goes back to 1896, when its main area of activity was manufacturing bicycles. Success allowed the company to expand its product line to include typewriters and motorcycles. Ongoing success led companies like Grundig, Volkswagen and Olivetti to bring TA under their corporate umbrellas.
Various business units and subsidiaries were sold off, overtime became a thing of the past and employees – both managers and the managed – were laid off. By 2004, the company’s payroll had fallen from 4,000 to a lean 1,300. But it wasn’t all tough love. “He healed the company,” one colleague told the Handelsblatt business daily, “not only with clear directives, but also with a great amount of sensitivity – like the famous horse whisperer. He is the type of person who knows exactly where he wants to go.” And it wasn’t done alone. In 2003, teaming up with Japanese companies wasn’t something many German companies did, but it was a risk Feldmeier was willing to take. Before long, TA and Kyocera Mita Corporation became partners, with the Japanese firm assuming 25 percent ownership of TA.
Robert Feldmeier, Speaker Managing Board
However, by 2001, company ambition had led TA to spread itself too thin. Trying to succeed at selling an unrelated hodgepodge of products (including everything from office supplies, health products and spare car parts to electronics and even dolls) led to a number of years in the red.
Photos: Triumph-Adler
The same year, TA’s managerial board welcomed Robert Feldmeier. Having spent 12 years at IBM – that legendary phoenix of industry – before going on to assume the top position at a related company, Feldmeier knew what it took to lead in a time of crisis and change. But first came the vision. Feldmeier set the company’s mission on one path: He wanted to turn TA into a leading service provider in the document business. The first step was getting rid of everything superfluous to this goal.
Success didn’t take long. In 2006, TA climbed back into the black. In 2007, TA reported profits of EUR 40.7 million on sales of EUR 416 million. And 2008 has followed the same upward trajectory, with the company reporting sales of EUR 207.7 million for the first half of the year. TA Triumph-Adler is now the premier German company within the document business. Its Japanese partners manufacture around 80 percent of the devices – such as copiers, faxes and printers – that the company sells under its own label in Germany. TA focuses on providing tailor-made consulting services, products and software to help over 34,000 customers save money while meeting their document-management needs.
“It was really about making sure that we could have growth,” Feldmeier says, “and carry out our overhaul with a partner that could provide us with some manufacturing support.” TA’s goal is to boost its sales to EUR 500 million by 2010 and, as Feldmeier puts it, “to become the SAP of the document business.” When he hears about other companies worrying about accepting foreign investment, he can only point to TA’s success and say that: “Foreign investors should – and must – be treated exactly like any other investor.”
Cover Story
Size Isn’t Everything
The Aspergillus niger mold fungus is able to naturally produce different technically useful enzymes like phytase, glucanase and xylanase. In the picture we see the so-called “mycelium,” a cluster of hyphae from Aspergillus niger. The threads have a diameter of between two to
Nanotechnology unlocks the potential of nature’s smallest building blocks One nanometer is one billionth of a meter or 10-9 m. To place that in some sort of context, a nanometer is to a meter what a marble is to the earth. Or, put another way, the amount a man’s beard will grow in the time it takes him to raise his razor to his face. Nanotechnology is the platform for cutting-edge research into the smallest particles in existence. The number of products containing nanoparticles may still be relatively limited, but this unobtrusive revolution is starting to change our world – especially when it comes to medicine, energy and the environment. Cheaper and more efficient solar cells, sustained-release drug dispensers and the cost-effective production and purification of drinking water are just a few ways in which nanotechnology is being applied.
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Nanoparticles are used in new, scratchresistant car lacquers and coatings for spectacles, colorless sunscreen and impermeable, dirt-proof or fire-resistant fabrics (normal cloth coated with particles so small that you can only see them under the best light-optical microscope). The next step is not far-off: self-cleaning and self-repairing household surfaces. Experts estimate that nanotechnologybased products will be worth a potential EUR one billion worldwide by the year 2015. The German government wants to ensure the country maintains its lead in the field, which is why it is playing a decisive role in the “Nano-Initiative Action Plan 2010” – a new strategy aimed at expanding nanotechnology applications in Germany’s most important industrial sectors, including semiconductors, optics and cars.
The “Action Plan” is divided into nine distinct areas: NanoMobil supports R&D projects for the automobile industry and its suppliers; NanoFab gives priority to research into the application of complex circuit structures for silicon nanoelectronics; NanoLux promotes the application of nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and fluorescent substances; Nano for Life coordinates research into nanomaterials and nanobiotechnology in the life sciences; NanoMicroChem is involved with nanotech for the chemical industry; Nano in Production aims to optimize the industrial production of nanomaterials; NanoTex deals with nanotech for functional textiles; NanoTecture focuses on nanotech applications in building construction; and NanoChance supports small and medium-sized companies working in the nanotech field.
Photo: Pressefoto BASF
five micrometers. Phytase and other enzymes belong to the white biotechnology field of activity and are produced in Ludwigshafen.
Cover Story
Germany’s nanochemicals sector has found the right formula In addition to a number of large corporations with diversified interests, more than 500 specialized small and medium-sized enterprises and numerous start-up companies are now operating in Germany’s nanotech sector. Many of them come from one of the traditional cornerstones of the German economy, the chemical industry, where most major companies are involved in nanotechnology in some form or another. Chemical nanotechnology involves materials such as coatings or 3-D objects developed from minute nanocomponents. Modeled directly on nature, it can vary the surface composition, shape, size or character of components and constantly reassemble them like small building blocks, offering unprecedented scope for material design. A striking characteristic of this sector is its relatively high number of strategic partnerships, particularly among leading companies such as BASF and Li-Tec. Joint ventures allow companies to develop nanochemical production processes along the entire value chain. For example, the quest to find the power pack of the future is one of the nanochemicals sector’s veritable Holy Grails, and Li-Tec and Evonik-Degussa are jointly developing and manufacturing a new type of sustainable battery for use in electric and hybrid vehicles. But nanochemistry’s applications are as wide-ranging as the chemical sector itself: Henkel subsidiary Sustech, for instance, produces innovative nanochemical-based adhesives; and NANO-X GmbH is developing new multi-functional materials, including easy-to-clean or selfcleaning glass and anti-corrosive, antifingerprint and anti-fogging coatings.
Both German companies and foreign companies active in this field are forging ahead in a wide range of niche sectors from pharmaceuticals to optics and environmental technology. One example is Berlin-based MagForce Nanotechnologies AG. MagForce is the global leader in the field of nanotechnology cancer treatment and is currently finalizing clinical trials of a new way of treating tumors using magnetic particles 500 times smaller than a red blood cell. The nano-sized particles can penetrate deep into the tumor tissue, where they absorb the energy of the magnetic field and release it as controlled heat. Nanosolar is another global leader in innovative nanotechnology applications, this time in solar power. Founded in 2002, the company operates the world's largest solar-cell factory in San Jose, California, and is currently building the world’s biggest solar-panel manufacturing plant at Luckenwalde, just outside Berlin. Exploiting recent advances in nanostructured materials and organic dispersion chemistry, Nanosolar has developed a proprietary ink that allows it to print semiconductors directly onto high-performance solar cells. Generous state subsidies for solar energy have already attracted several German energy utilities and venture-capital companies as investment partners, and the Luckenwalde plant is expected to turn out more than a million solar panels a year when it goes into full operation.
Nanotechnology clusters: theory meets practice Networks of competence are regional clusters of players operating in a particular field that bundle their activities at the national, regional or even local level. Actively supported by the Federal Government’s “Networks of Competence Germany” (www.kompetenznetze.de) initiative, they provide a framework for companies, umbrella organizations and scientists to collaborate on the development, application and standardization of new technologies. Germany currently has nine nanotechnology clusters covering the whole range of research and application. In the Saarbrücken/Saarpfalz region, CCNanoChem specializes in nano-chemistry and nanobiotechnology and works together closely with the Nano+Bio Center at the Technical University in Kaiserslautern. The Ruhr-based IVAM is an international network of some 250 companies, institutes and other partners bundling microtechnology, nanotechnology and new materials. Meanwhile, HanseNanoTec Competence Center provides a point of contact for researchers, entrepreneurs, financial-service-providers, and funding organizations working in nanotechnology in the Hamburg region. At the Münsterbased Competence Center for Nanoanalytics (CCN), the focus is on nanoanalytic quantification methods and their practical applications, particularly raster scan technology.
Photo: Pressefoto BASF
Big contribution to environmental and life sciences Despite its close ties with the chemical sector, nanotechnology is not a unified discipline, but one which draws from a number of other scientific fields. These include applied physics, materials, interface and colloid sciences, device physics, self-replicating machines and robotics as well as mechanical, biological and electrical engineering. This means it is attracting more and more companies from across the whole scientific spectrum.
Nanocubes act as a storage medium for hydrogen
Cover Story
Regional Distribution of Relevant Nanotechnology Institutions in Germany
Baden-Württemberg (139 Entries)
DENMARK
50% SMEs
DENMARK
Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea north sea
13% Research Centers
Kiel
31
37
4% Networks 6% Finance 2% Government 13% Major Enterprises
MecklenburgVorpommern
Schleswig-Holstein
Schwerin
Hamburg
16
Bavaria (175 Entries)
Bremen
37
12% University Institutes
THE Netherlands
Brandenburg
Lower Saxony
POLAND
47% SMEs
65
Hanover
10% University Institutes 4% Research Centers 6% Networks
Berlin Magdeburg
11% Finance
Potsdam
3% Government
64 24
North RhineWestphalia
16
19% Major Enterprises
Saxony-Anhalt
Düsseldorf
Hessen
216
134
belgium
Berlin (66 Entries)
Saxony
Thuringia Erfurt
120
Dresden
58% SMEs
39
6% Networks
Wiesbaden
RhinelandPalatinate
Luxembourg
8% Finance
Mainz
8% Government 3% Major Enterprises
Czech republic
Saarland
35
Saarbrücken
6% University Institutes 11% Research Centers
34
175 139
Bavaria
Brandenburg (16 Entries) 12% University Institutes
Stuttgart
FRance
31% Research Centers BadenWürttemberg
Munich
Austria
44% SMEs
6% Finance 6% Goverment
switzerland
Total number of all institutes in one region
In Eastern Germany, Saxony bundles more than 50 companies, 10 institutes of higher education, 22 research establishments and five business associations into a cluster focusing on ultra-thin functional films, which are a key element of nanotechnology. Further north in Berlin/Brandenburg, NanOp specializes in nanostructures for use in optoelectronics.
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AGeNT-D coordinates German’s nanotechnology clusters to maximum effect NanOp is also responsible for the management of AGeNT-D (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Nanotechnologie-Kompetenzzentren in Deutschland), a consortium of all nine nanotechnology clusters launched in early 2007 with financial backing from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). AGeNT aims to increase operational efficiency within the whole group by coordinating its wide range of interests and setting R&D and commercial priorities. Water drops on a polyester cloth treated with Mincor@TXTT
The nanotechnology-promoting networks Hessen-Nanotech and Nano- und Materialinnovationen Niedersachsen were also recently welcomed as new members. Growing interest from potential customers in Asia has led to the creation of Nano in Germany, a database of German nanotechnology companies especially oriented toward Asian markets. Nano in Germany includes company profiles in English, Japanese and Chinese categorized according to their key technologies and organized into virtual exhibitions. Out of sight, but not out of mind Until very recently, most people lumped nanotechnology in with other improbable pursuits, including UFO-spotting and the search for the philosopher’s stone, and any investigation into its potential implications was largely confined to the realm of science fiction.
Photo: BASF Pressefoto
Braunschweig’s UPOB (Ultra-precise Surface Figuring Competence Center), on the other hand, is a highly specialized cluster that amalgamates production technologies, components, metrology and sensor technology. UPOB is split up into four core areas according to methodology: mechanical/chemical processing, ion-beam and plasma processing, optical processing and related processes, and the characterization of surfaces. NanoMat in the Karlsruhe region focuses on materials.
Cover Story
Hessen (134 Entries)
56% SMEs
Hamburg (37 Entries)
10% University Institutes 2% Research Centers 3% Networks 3% Finance
Bremen (37 Entries) 24% University Institutes
14% University Institutes 5% Research Centers
32% SMEs
8% Research Centers 5% Finance
14% Networks
5% Government
5% Government 21% Major Enterprises
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (16 Entr.)
11% Major Enterprises
22% Finance 3% Government
Lower Saxony (64 Entries)
12% University Institutes
Saarland (35 Entries)
34% SMEs
Rhineland-Palatinate (34 Entries)
18% Major Enterprises
6% Networks 42% SMEs
6% Finance 5% Government 11% Major Enterprises
Thuringia (39 Entries)
19% University Institutes
15% University Institutes
15% Research Centers
10% Research Centers
2% Networks 3% Finance 2% Government 52% SMEs
6% Major Enterprises
Schleswig-Holstein (31 Entries)
3% Finance 3% Government 56% SMEs
4% University Institutes 8% Research Centers
6% Research Centers
8% Networks
3% Networks 6% Finance 3% Government 68% SMEs
13% Major Enterprises
Saxony-Anhalt (34 Entries)
13% University Institutes
9% University Institutes 9% Research Centers 3% Networks 3% Finance 3% Government 56% SMEs
16% Major Enterprises
Saxony (120 Entries)
9%Research Centers
66% SMEs
7% Research Centers
6% Networks 6% Government
9% University Institutes 6% Networks 3% Finance 3% Government 6% Major Enterprises
24% University Institutes
11% Research Centers
6% Government 6% Major Enterprises
North Rhine-Westphalia (216 Entries)
27% University Institutes
12% Research Centers
62% SMEs
57% SMEs
4% Finance 4% Government 71% SMEs
Distribution of nano-institutions in the German Federal States
Source: www.nano-map.de
Photo: BASF Pressefoto
These days, however, films such as Richard Fleischer’s 1966 “Fantastic Voyage” seem uncannily prescient, and the public is finally becoming aware of a part of the environment it cannot see even with a microscope, let alone with the naked eye. Fortunately, Germany’s scientists, entrepreneurs and politicians have been quicker off the mark, and the country is now host to a vibrant nanotechnology sector nurtured by enlightened structural and financial policies that encourage an effective mix of public and private investment. “I have seen the future” is a phrase that veers perilously close to cliché. The point is, though, that just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. And, in this new chapter of scientific discovery, German nanotechnologists are already playing an important role.
Microstructures from designer proteins, designed by researchers of BASF. Self-assembling proteins, like the R16 type here, do not occur in this form in nature. For example because the protein balls display a skin-smoothing effect it is conceivable to use them in cosmetics.
Current Issues
GmbH Reform Gives Germany a Match for the “Limited” Germany’s Bundesrat (Federal Council) recently approved a significant reform to the country’s law governing private limited companies, the GmbH-Gesetz (GmbH Act). The modernized GmbH Act provides start-ups and investors with the necessary legal framework for the successful and uncomplicated realization of their business plans. The reform went into effect in November 2008. The GmbH is the most common “limited liability company” (LLC) form. In Germany, about 500,000 GmbHs are active on the German market. In recent years, the European Court of Justice has ruled in a number of landmark cases that all EU states are obliged to accept incoming companies incorporated in another EU state. The decisions confirm the freedom of establishment for companies within the EU. This liberalization has created increased competition among different European company forms, as start-up investors in particular realize that they can choose a foreignbased business model.
The British “private company limited by shares” (“limited”) company form in particular has gained in popularity all over Europe. The “limited” form mainly attracts investors because it is cheap and simple to found. (For a detailed comparison between the “limited” and the GmbH, see “Limited Instead of GmbH – Really the Better Option?” Vol. 2/2007 of Invest in Germany Magazine.) One of the major objectives of the reformed GmbH Act is to strengthen the position of the GmbH in relation to other European company forms. Reductions in costs and administrative work are therefore both important elements of the recently approved GmbH reform. Under current law, at least EUR 25,000 worth of capital is required to found a GmbH. At the time of registration, a minimum of EUR 12,500 must be contributed. In the case of a single-shareholder GmbH, a security for the non-contributed part of the minimum share capital must be provided. This obligation will be abolished under the new GmbH Act.
The reformed GmbH Act will also make it possible to establish a company with limited liability and begin operations with just one euro as start-up capital. This new category of GmbH is officially called a “limited liability entrepreneurial company” (haftungsbeschränkte Unternehmensgesellschaft-UG) or, as it is more popularly known, the “Mini-GmbH.” The UG must put aside one quarter of annual profits to allow its share capital to grow to the GmbH level. Once this level has been reached, the accumulated capital can be converted into share capital and the UG can then change its name to a GmbH. The requirement of having a notarization of the GmbH’s articles of association remains intact. However, the notary fee can be reduced by using the new model articles of association included in the GmbH Act. Investors have the option of using these articles to form a UG or a GmbH. The articles, however, only apply for establishments by cash subscription with a maximum of three shareholders and one managing director. The reformed GmbH Act makes the GmbH an even more attractive and flexible option for all kinds of investors. For startups the reduction of the initial financial burden is of major importance. Moreover, the establishment and running of a GmbH in general is simplified. Despite the implementation of the UG as a new category of limited liability company, some banks and German business partners may still be more comfortable doing business with a traditional GmbH. Therefore it still remains attractive to establish a traditional GmbH.
Germany’s Bundesrat (Federal Council)
10
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Photo: Bundesrat 2006
For questions about the reformed GmbH Act as well as other inquiries about establishing a company in Germany, please contact Invest in Germany’s Tax & Legal Services Division.
Current Issues
Renewable Energies Power New German Climate Program Germany’s new Integrated Energy and Climate Program (IEKP) is the world’s most ambitious climate-protection effort and aims to strengthen Germany’s position as the world leader in renewable energy use. Under the IEKP, that number will jump to 25-30 percent by 2020. Moreover, it’s not just an issue of how much energy will come from these sources, but also about making it easier to do so. To that end, the IEKP has new provisions for regulating tariffs for offshore wind farms and for improving their integration into the electricity grid while, at the same time, giving due consideration to economic efficiency, supply security and environmental compatibility. And it’s not just about wind farms either, as the act also envisions an increase in the use of photovoltaics, biomass and hydro- and geothermal power.
Photo: BMW/Christoph Edelhoff
Turbine maintenance work in the wind tunnel
In August 2007, Germany’s cabinet hammered out an ambitious new energy and climate program. The legislative aspects of the so-called “Integrated Energy and Climate Program” (IEKP) were approved the following December and May. The program doubles Germany’s previous climate-protection efforts while striking a balance between keeping companies competitive and not overly burdening consumers. A number of the program’s acts focus on putting massive support behind Germany’s already world-class renewable-energy sector. “Germany is pursuing the most ambitious climate and energy program worldwide,” says Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel. “While the 20th century was characterized by continuous increases in labor productivity, the 21st century must become the century of energy efficiency.” 11
Estimates say that the plan, if rigorously implemented, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent compared to 1990, a giant step toward Germany’s ultimate goal of 40 percent reductions. In real numbers, that means reducing the amount of annual CO2 emissions by 220 million tons. Changing the role of renewable energies will play a major role, too, reducing emissions by 54 million tons – or just under one quarter of the total anticipated reductions. The specific measures related to renewable energies involve amendments to two acts, the first of which is the Renewable Energy Sources Act. Renewable energies currently supply 14 percent of the total electricity Germans consume.
The second act to be affected is the Renewable Energies Heat Act. Under the IEKP, the share of renewable energies used to provide heat will be increased to 14 percent by 2020. Among its numerous measures, the act mandates higher levels of renewable-energy use in new buildings and provides government support to help increase energy efficiency in existing buildings. The amount of support will skyrocket from EUR 130 million in 2005 to EUR 350 million in 2008 and EUR 500 million in 2009. These changes won’t just help Germany do its bit to save the environment; they’ll also create jobs and save billions. In fact, according to a recent report from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, the IEKP will generate up to EUR 30 billion in additional annual investments and, by 2020, lower energy costs by up to EUR 20 billion a year while creating more than 500,000 new jobs. “The results show that climate protection is a way to help the economy,” Gabriel says. “If we want growth and employment, we need to place our bets on renewable energies and efficiency.”
Foreign Direct Investment
Cosco: success linked to its decision to invest in Hamburg
Hamburg Provides Chinese Companies with Link to Germany, Europe, and the World
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Invest in Germany Magazine
Access to waterways gives Hamburg the advantage Hamburg is the European headquarters of Cosco, China’s largest oceanic transport company. Cosco Europe now has 56 subsidiaries in 28 countries employing a total of 2,000 workers. Cosco established its Hamburg office in 1989. When Yang is asked about the development of his company in Germany, his reply is unequivocal: “We are happy.” He has many reasons to feel this way. In recent years especially, Cosco Europe has experienced significant growth in orders, rising consistently by as much as eight percent annually. This growing success is one reason that the European market is an important area in Cosco’s global growth strategy.
The company firmly believes that this success is linked to its decision to invest in Hamburg, since from here it can maximize revenue from Germany’s many advantages as an investment location. For a logistics company, Germany is a logical investment location. The country has been the world’s leading exporter for the last five years,and more goods are transported via Germany than any other European country. This trade and exchange of goods is aided by Germany’s excellent infrastructure. It has a widely developed highway network, a dense rail network and waterways that function smoothly as well. “Germany offers Cosco a very quick connection to its interior via domestic waterways,” notes Yang. Germany’s infrastructure was one of the reasons cited by Ernst & Young when it concluded in a recent report that Germany was Europe’s number one location for logistics investments.
Photo: Hafen Hamburg Marketing/ D. Hasenpusch
Yang Bin’s spacious office looks onto the River Elbe. His manner is friendly and elegant, befitting someone who is able to view the river that runs through one of Europe’s most historic and economically dynamic cities. Hamburg is currently the home to his firm, Cosco, as well as two other major companies, China Shipping and Baosteel. They join the ranks of over 400 Chinese companies that have offices in the Hanseatic city. Companies generally choose Hamburg and Germany for similar reasons: strong infrastructural connections, a qualified workforce and the performance of German employees in a variety of sectors. Furthermore, Cosco, China Shipping and Baosteel all have Shanghai as their Chinese headquarters, and Shanghai and Hamburg have been official “sister cities” since 1986.
Foreign Direct Investment
In addition, Hamburg is one of Europe’s largest harbor cities, possessing a service-and shipping infrastructure that makes it a logical choice for a growing logistics company such as Cosco. The country’s infrastructure befits its position as the world’s leading exporter for the last five years. The quality of German employees is one major reason for investors to come to Germany. Cosco is no different. Of its more than 170 employees in Germany, 150 are German. Yang only has the highest praise for his employees: “I can say without a doubt that German employees are the best in Europe. They work effectively, are disciplined and cooperate well with the management.” Worker qualification and Germany’s infrastructure also played a significant role in China Shipping’s decision to invest in Hamburg. Infrastructural network offers major cost advantage China Shipping founded its German subsidiary in 1996. Like Cosco, it uses Hamburg as its headquarters for Europe, from which it oversees 14 fully or partly owned subsidiaries. The company has three offices throughout Germany and employs a staff of 120, of which 110 are German.
Importance in earning trust of German clients But it is not only Chinese logistics companies that are taking advantage of the investment conditions in both Germany and Hamburg. “Germany’s machines, industries, infrastructure and workforce are first class. I have the highest respect for German technology,” says Ye Meng, President of Baosteel Europe GmbH. The company has offices worldwide, and its headquarters for Europe, Africa and the Middle East have been in Hamburg since 1993. According to Ye, Baosteel enjoys a significant quality advantage from its investment in Germany. By producing and assembling its steel products in Germany, the company is able to earn the trust of German clients and sell quality “Made in Germany” steel parts to customers back in China. Since 2004, Baosteel’s business has doubled, and profit has significantly increased. Correspondingly, the company has added employees to its German offices. In 2004, there were 30 Baosteel employees in Germany; today, there are 55. Ye credits much of this growth and success to the international reputation of the “Made in Germany” label and to the quality work of his employees.
Hamburg – gateway to the world Being a Hanseatic city, Hamburg has a long tradition of trading with the world. Since 1986, Hamburg and the city of Shanghai have been sister cities. “Hamburg's function as Europe's biggest port for Chinese trade and as a gateway to Germany and Europe makes it a top location for many Chinese companies. Furthermore, it has a tradition of being open and welcoming to the world; many Chinese investors feel at home in Hamburg. An extensive network of China-related service providers and innovative industrial and commercial clusters provide an attractive investment environment. Over 400 Chinese companies in the city prove that,” adds Heinrich Lieser, Managing Director of Hamburg’s Economic Development Corporation (HWF). Invest in Germany is also actively engaged in bringing Chinese investors to Germany. It has a representative office in in Beijing, and has also recently launched a Chinese-language website to allow Chinese investors to read about the economic advantages of Germany in their own language. The Chinese website can be reached www.invest-in-germany.com/cn.
Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de
CEO for Germany Yu Zenggang recognizes similar strengths for German workers, describing them as reliable, precise and impeccably professional. The strength of Germany’s infrastructure also played a significant role in China Shipping’s decision to invest in Germany and is also influencing its continued confidence in the market. Yu is quick to point out that Germany’s infrastructural network and the speed with which this allows companies to ship products from one point to another have cost advantages for logistics firms. They can reach destinations efficiently and can therefore save money in comparison to other investment locations. The principal reasons that Cosco and China Shipping are investing in Hamburg – infrastructure and workforce – are also some of the motivations that Baosteel, a Forbes-500-listed steel company, has for investing in Hamburg.
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China Time Hamburg: A dragon on the Alster greets visitors to the bi-annual event series
Foreign Direct Investment
2008 Investment Highlights This was a successful year in terms of FDI in Germany. Swedish energy company Vattenfall has been the biggest industrial foreign investor with more than EUR 1 billion, followed by Russia’s Gazprom with more than EUR 340 million. In addition to these energy companies, a number of other global players have poured hundreds of millions of euros in investments into Germany. Read a selection of the most important and interesting investments of the year.
Kenersys, a Münster-based German company owned by the Indian Kalyani Group, is expanding to a new facility in Wismar, a port city north of Schwerin in the state of Mecklenberg-Vorpommern. The plant, which is expected to create 120 new jobs, will produce Kenersys wind turbines, a product introduced by the company this summer. Kenersys is a fully integrated wind-energy company carrying out design, assembly and marketing of its turbines, which have a large market in wind-rich northern Germany. The first turbines off the production line will make their appearance in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009. The move into wind technology marks an expansion for Kalyani, which was founded in the mid-1960s as an automobile-component corporation, which later moved into steel forging. With Kenersys’s state-ofthe-art technology, the company will soon be offering turbines not only to Europe, but also to the Pacific Rim. Solar Energy Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, based in the United Arab Emirates, has announced plans to build a EUR 140 million plant in Reinholz, Thuringia, for the production of thin-layer solar cells. The facility, which will begin construction in the first quarter of 2009 and is expected to go on-line in 2010, will initially employ 180 highly qualified staff. This number is expected to grow to around 600 as the facility develops. The eight-hectare site will include not only a production facility but also buildings for research and development, marketing and sales.
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Invest in Germany Magazine
Ground breaking ceremony in Thuringia
Explaining its decision to locate the plant in Germany, Masdar said it was only natural because Germany is the center of the world’s solar-energy industry. Thuringia has become Germany’s solar-energy center, with 47 companies producing and researching this renewable energy technology, including 11 solar-energy plants. With over 2,500 people employed directly or indirectly by the industry at present – a figure which is expected to double by 2010 – EUR 800 million per year is pumped into the regional economy. ICT Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian company based in Waterloo, Ontario, has announced plans to open its first European research center in Bochum. The popular BlackBerry
The center will be the company’s first outside of Canada. RIM is most noted for its Blackberry “smart phones,” which integrate e-mail, web technology and telephony in a single device. The Bochum center, starting with an investment of USD 45 million, will concentrate on developing hardware and software for Blackberries, which have become increasingly popular in Europe. In the first phase, the center will employ around 140 people (many of them former employees of Nokia, which recently closed its Bochum center) but hopes to increase that number to 500 as the business expands. Chief among the factors that led RIM to select Bochum was the University of Bochum’s technology park, where the RIM facility will be located. Another significant factor was the proximity of RIM’s research parter Vodafone in nearby Düsseldorf. Food Industry In January of this year, Jack Link’s, the US meat snacks manufacturer, opened its European headquarters in Berlin. The company, which is based in Minong, Wisconsin, in America’s Midwest, specializes in beef jerky, a snack of American Indian origins made from smoked, dehydrated beef. Although the snack is largely unfamiliar to Europeans, the company, which currently employs 20 people in its central Berlin office, wants to introduce the product to the continent and feels Berlin’s central location is ideal for expanding into both eastern and western European markets. Part of the company’s strategy is emphasizing the healthiness of its products, which are not only extremely low in fats, calories and carbohydrates, but also meet halal standards, the standard for meat purity required by Muslim consumers.
Photo: Blackberry:RIM; LEG Thuringia
Wind Energy
Foreign Direct Investment
Jack Link’s plans to introduce four new products on top of its successful jerky, steak nuggets and steak bar lines in order to introduce Europeans to a new kind of snacking. Pharmaceutical Industry Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has renewed its continuing investment commitment to its German branches with investments of EUR 72 million in Mannheim and EUR 172 million in the southern Bavarian city of Penzberg. The investments will expand operations for the research, development and production of biopharmaceuticals, including Mircera (a drug used in treating renal anemia and kidney failure), Pegasys (a form of interferon used in the treatment of hepatitis C) and Actemra (used to treat rheumatoid arthritis). Mannheim houses Roche’s German headquarters with over 7,000 employees, making it Roche’s secondlargest location worldwide. Roche has been an important presence there since 1882, when Christoph Boehringer, son of the firm’s founder, first established a branch there. The Penzberg location is used by both Roche Diagnostics and Roche Pharma and is exclusively focused on biotechnology. Around 4,100 employees work on a variety of diagnostic reagents and pharmaceuticals at its 380,000 squaremeter biotechnology center, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. MedTech
Photo: www.roche.de
The American medical supply giant Johnson & Johnson has invested EUR 1.7 million in a new research, development and production center for mesh sutures
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(to be used by its Ethicon Products subsidiary) in Norderstedt, near Hamburg. The Johnson & Johnson Worldwide Mesh Technology Center, as the facility is known, will produce high-tech woven surgical meshes to close wounds and surgical incisions (particularly pelvic, hernia and plastic surgery). Flexible yet strong, surgical meshes allow wounds to breathe while keeping them closed so that the body can repair the bond. The company will have the world’s most modern plant for the production of suture material, needles and absorbent implants. The 65 new employees there will oversee the production of over half a million surgical meshes per year, meeting the urgent need of European surgeons. In Germany alone, there are over a quarter million hernia surgeries per year. Gary J. Pruden, Ethicon’s worldwide president, noted that “Germany is the land of technicians and engineers” and saluted the highly motivated employees and the spirit of discovery of German doctors. Biotech Biotechnology in Berlin got another boost in July of this year with the foundation of a strategic partnership between Jerini AG and the British firm Shire Ltd., which bought 68 percent of Jerini’s shares for a reported EUR 330 million. Jerini, founded in 1994, specializes in medicines for diseases previously considered untreatable. Its lead product, Firazyr® (Icatibant), addresses the condition hereditary angioedema, a syndrome that causes painful and potentially life-threatening swellings, and it may also prove to be therapeutic in treating severe burns.
It has been granted marketing authorization by the European Drug Regulatory Authority, making it the first drug to be approved in all 27 European member states for the treatment of this rare disease. Jerini also has research groups working on treatments for certain types of cancers, age-related macular degeneration (progressive blindness in people over 55) and other inflammatory conditions. The focus in all of the research being conduc ted is Jerini’s unique peptides-to-drugs approach, a proprietary technology developed by the firm that makes it possible to convert peptides into easily injectable or swallowable forms. Shire, for its part, has carried out extensive research into therapies involving human genetics, including the treatment of intestinal-tract and urinary-tract disorders. MedTech/Biotech US firm Biocore, based in Elkridge, Maryland, has formed a new company, Human Biosciences, which will be based in the biotechnology park in Luckenwalde in the Berlin Capital Region. Human Biosciences, founded by Biocore head Manoj K. Jain and a team of Indian investors, is investing over EUR 40 million in the facility, which will create over a hundred new jobs. The move is a direct result of a visit by Brandenburg’s Minister of Trade and Commerce, Ulrich Junghanns, earlier this year in the USA.
Production facility for therapeutic proteins at Roche Pharma in Penzberg
Foreign Direct Investment
Human Biosciences has developed a means of producing collagen, a protein that aids in the healing of wounds and is often needed by diabetics (who are unable to produce sufficient quantities naturally) and by gravely wounded people whose immune systems are stressed. With facilities in the US, Taiwan and India already making collagen, this will be the European production center. Biocore is not the only US biotech firm Mr. Junghanns has successfully interested in the Luckenwalde park: Greystone Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, California, will be joining Human Biosciences as a working partner.
IHI Charging Systems International GmbH (ICSI) is a new company created in Arnstadt, Thuringia, thanks to a EUR 45 million initial investment by the Japanese IHI Group and automaker Daimler. The Arnstadt plant, currently under construction, will manufacture turbochargers for gasoline and diesel engines and is expected to go on-line with a workforce of some 400 people at the end of 2008. Should everything go according to plan, this will only be the beginning. A researchand-development unit will soon join the manufacturing plant, thanks to Arnstadt’s easy access to the state of Thuringia’s universities and research institutes and similar access to Germany’s automotive manufacturing sites, including a Daimler engine plant in Kölleda. It is expected that the facility will soon expand in size to double the current number of employees. Announcing the partnership this February, IHI noted that Thuringia was also an ideal location because of the strong presence of highly qualified workers in the region. Aviation When GE-Aviation was looking for a research facility site for the next generation of turbine-blade manufacturing processes, the city of Regensburg in the southern German state of Bavaria proved to be the ideal location. The company’s aviation division joined two other GE divisions, GE Healthcare and GE Global Research Center, in locating in Bavaria. The new division is expected to be up and running by the spring of 2009, with a pilot lightweight turbine-blade research program being the first project.
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Invest in Germany Magazine
Caterpillar, the Peoria, Illinois-based manufacturer of heavy machinery, has invested EUR 50 million to expand its motor-manufacturing plant, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock, in the northern German port city. The factory makes four-stroke medium-speed diesel and gas engines used for the propulsion of ships, shipboard generators and land-based stationary power plants.
GE-Aviation: GE H System turbine
Current expectations are that a successful conclusion to the research will lead to the establishment of a production facility in Regensburg in the not-too-distant future. GE-Aviation will join a number of other high-tech companies located in Regensburg (the most famous being BMW, but also including OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, a division of Siemens) and a number of biotech companies in the city’s biotech research park. The 16,000 students of the University of Regensburg, famous for its research facilities, provide a well-educated pool of employees from which GE-Aviation can recruit. Electronics Industry The city of Norderstedt, just north of Hamburg, has announced that Japanese electronics giant Casio will erect a 35,000-square-meter European central office in its Nordport industrial park. The EUR 50 million project, a joint investment between Casio and the Hamburg project development firm LIP (Ludger Inholte Projektentwicklung), will consist of a warehouse, an office building (from which Casio will direct its European operations) and a parking garage. The new facility will employ 362 people, and the city has already given it its own address (CasioPlatz 1) as well as extending the public transportation network to the site. The Nordport park is particularly important to the international company because it is so close to the Hamburg International Airport. Casio is currently considering plans to bring other company divisions, including management, sales and repair, to Casio-Platz.
FCT unit mounted on a MaK M 32 C LEE marine engine
The expansion will allow the Rostock Caterpillar plant to increase its current production of 150 engines per year, and it will add another 100 workers to the current 140-strong workforce. As Rostock is also home to many of Germany’s shipbuilding suppliers, the expansion is expected to have a ripple effect on the local economy over and above its own contribution as the companies Caterpillar supplies become even more competitive due to increased supply capacity. It will also have a knock-on effect on Caterpillar Motoren itself, as moving manufacturing capacity for some engine models to Rostock will free up space for the sister facility in Kiel to expand as well.
Photos: General Electric Company; Caterpillar/Mak-global.com
Automotive
Mechanical Engineering
Industry Report
Germany’s Pharma Sector in Robust Good Health
Photo: Bayer Schering Pharma
Germany’s pharmaceuticals sector looks forward to sustained growth through 2012 Global pharmaceutical sales more than doubled between 1998 and 2006, with the US market setting the pace for both size and growth. The German pharmaceuticals market was worth approximately EUR 33 billion last year, making it Europe’s strongest and the third-largest in the world. The number of patent registrations for pharmaceuticals has also risen faster in Germany than in other countries over the last few years, and Germany has been the European leader in commercial clinical trials since 2006. Although government legislation aimed at curbing soaring health care costs has put a slight brake on overall sector growth, analysts still expect it to average well over three percent for the next four years, with overthe-counter drugs and the expansion of the generics sector acting as the main drivers. This reflects the booming market for consumer health products as a whole, which has mainly been brought about by increasing competition and the emergence of the Internet as a major sales conduit. Public health care is single biggest revenue generator The medical and therapeutic requirements of Germany’s health care system are the main generators of sales: Gross 17
sales of proprietary medicinal products accounted for EUR 26.4 billion in 2006. This is by far the largest market share and a 2.1 percent increase over 2005. Germany has also evolved into the world’s most generics-friendly country, with more than half of all sales in the entire market generated in the so-called generics-eligible market, i.e. where the imitation products made by other manufacturers can be authorized for sale beside the original pharmaceuticals once their patents have expired. The share of medicines containing genetically manufactured substances is also increasing rapidly: Growth was almost 11 percent in 2006, up from 7.6 percent six years earlier. A high level of pharmaceutical-company investment has elevated Germany into globally second place, behind the US. One of Germany’s most important future industries “Germany’s Future Industries” is the name of a report compiled by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Köln (IW) (Cologne Institute of the German Economy). Out of 34 sectors analyzed, it pinpoints pharmaceuticals as being one of the three most promising. In particular, Germany’s pharmaceuticals industry can rely on a large domestic market with high per capita expenditure as well as a traditionally strong and technologically advanced industrial base.
Staff prepare automated riboneucleic acid interference analysis tests
A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has also highlighted the speed with which newly licensed products can be launched. It also underlines the price support for new drugs as well as a large pool of highly qualified workers and scientists and a strong presence in cuttingedge research. Close ties between Germany’s dense network of universities and research institutes and companies in the medical sector are an important source of innovation. Research and development is of paramount importance for pharmaceutical companies, which generally tend to set or revise long-term R&D budgets almost three times as frequently as companies in other sectors. This has had a significant effect on employment in the industry, where the number of jobs increased by over 14 percent for the period 2000 to 2005, a time when unemployment in Germany was rising as a whole. Ongoing technological innovation – especially in gene- and biotechnology – and changing societies in which demands for health care are becoming more and more strident provide outstanding scope for growth and development. “The future of the German economy is in health care,” says Dr. Michael Hüther, director of the institute in Cologne. “This is primarily because of the ability to make productive use of major trends in technology and society and to turn them into marketable innovations.”
Industry Report
A Peek in the Powerhouse New Publication Profiles Eastern Germany’s Cleantech Boom Germany’s eastern Länder, known collectively as Eastern Germany or “the new federal states,” are experiencing an unprecedented surge of industrial activity in the cleantech sector. Whether in the area of wind turbines, solar-power production, geothermal energy or second-generation biofuels, Eastern Germany has established a leading role for itself in the commercial exploitation of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly technologies. Just how successful the region has become – and why it will continue to expand – is the focus of a new 52-page booklet entitled “Powerhouse Eastern Germany: The Prime Location for Cleantech Leaders.” Published by Invest in Germany with generous support from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, this booklet provides valuable insights into one of the most exciting and fastest- growing sectors of Europe’s largest economy. The 12 sections of this richly illustrated publication cover the entire range of cleantech industrial activity in Eastern Germany. Alongside detailed articles about the region’s renewable energy subsectors (wind, photovoltaics, solarthermal, geothermal and biofuels), the publication provides an overview of Eastern Germany’s world-class infrastructure and its top flight research and development assets. Efforts by Germany’s mighty automotive industry to introduce cleaner technologies are also outlined. An entire section is devoted to “bio-based plastics and chemicals,” highlighting advancements in industrial biotechnology and the search for viable alternatives to petrochemicals. A series of maps in the booklet provides useful orientation, showing the geographical distribution of Germany’s cleantech resources and illustrating the country’s uniquely central location in Europe.
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Invest in Germany Magazine
As pointed out in an introductory statement by Wolfgang Tiefensee, Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (who also serves as the country’s Commissioner for the New Federal States), the cleantech sector represents “one of the great economic opportunities of the 21st century.” Acutely aware of this opportunity, the German government is actively promoting the development of cleantech industries, particularly in Eastern Germany. The region has undergone a major structural transformation in the years since German reunification and is now primed to absorb new investment. As Minister Tiefensee points out: “The attractive business environment and the financial assistance schemes for the new federal states combine to form a unique basis for investment.” Listed below are just a few of the compelling facts to be found in the Powerhouse Eastern Germany publication:
– The wind-power industry provides jobs for 84,300 people in Germany. –W ithin Europe, Germany has built up more wind-power capacity than the total found in the next three largest national producers (Spain, Denmark and Italy) combined. –G ermany has approved plans for more than 25 major offshore wind-farm projects. Solar Thermal – In Germany today, around six percent of all households are utilizing heat from solar-thermal-energy systems. – S ales revenue in Germany’s solar-thermal industry reached a record EUR 910 million in 2006. Newly installed capacity that year grew by 58 percent. –T he German Federal Government’s Market Incentive Program (MAP) has earmarked EUR 350 million for incentives to stimulate the solar-thermal market in 2008 and set aside a further EUR 500 million for 2009.
Photovoltaics Biofuels – The German photovoltaics (PV) market alone accounts for close to half of all global sales. – Eastern Germany has succeeded in developing the largest PV industrial cluster in the world. – Of the 21 thin-film technology firms in Germany, 19 are based in the Eastern Länder, which are now home to around half the country’s PV-sector production jobs. – In 2007, PV sales in Germany increased roughly 30 percent over the previous year. During that same period, solarelectricity output in the country rose by 50 percent to 3.5 billion kilowatt hours. Wind Energy – W ind-power companies in Germany reported revenues of EUR 11.7 billion in 2007. – 4 0 percent of Germany’s installed windenergy capacity comes from Eastern Germany.
– Eastern Germany currently accounts for about two-thirds of the country’s biofuel production. –A ll of Germany’s operating bioethanol plants and half its biodiesel facilities are located in the Eastern Länder. – I n 2009, the world’s first plant to produce synthetic biofuels on a commercial basis will open in Saxony. Geothermal – Between 2005 and 2006, sales of heat pump systems in Germany rose by around 60 percent. More than 45,000 heat pump systems were installed in 2007.
Photos: GFZ; BMU/Oberhäuser; BSW/Langrock; BMU/Härtrich; CHOREN Industries GmbH; BASF
Industry Report
Fuel Cells
Incentives
– Germany has more than 300 companies specializing in fuel-cell technology and 65 research institutes working in the field.
– The highest incentive rates apply to Eastern Germany, with grants of up to 50 percent of eligible expenditures. – Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act provides feed-in tariffs from renewable energy sources for 20 years, the highest allowances for geothermal power anywhere in the European Union.
Bioplastics – T he German market for bioplastics has been growing at an annual rate of 30 percent. Investment in Renewables – In 2007, Germany’s total investment in renewables amounted to EUR 10.2 billion. That’s more than the amount invested in renewables in the United States and Japan combined.
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R&D – The Eastern German states are home to such internationally renowned research institutions as the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer Society), the Leibniz Association, the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association.
– 23 universities and 36 universities of applied sciences play a large part in training Eastern Germany’s highly qualified labor force. –G ermany ranks among the top three countries worldwide for exports of R&D intensive goods. If you would like to view Powerhouse Eastern Germany in its entirety, the booklet is available as a free download from the Invest in Germany website: (www.invest-in-germany.com) To order a hard copy of this publication, please send an email to: request@invest-in-germany.com
Industry Report
“There’s gold in them thar hills” was the famous battle cry of a small town in Georgia where the United States’ first gold rush began in the early 19th century. There is now a 21st century variation of that in Germany and around the world: “There’s gold in them thar hills … of trash.” Yellow recycling bins are no longer needed
The German Recycling Boom
The price of tin has tripled since 2006
A recent survey by the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) in Cologne found that four out of five experts on the environment believe that it will be precisely those companies that are most adept at recycling and reusing materials that will have a vital advantage down the road. 20
Invest in Germany Magazine
In 2005, Germany recycled raw materials worth EUR 3.7 billion – effectively saving itself from having to import them as raw materials. Included within that figure was EUR 1.5 billion worth of recycled steel, aluminum and zinc. “As a result, Germany has been able to reduce its exposure to the rise in prices for raw materials,“ said Hubertus Bardt, head of research at the IW in Cologne in a recent interview with Wirtschaftswoche. The business magazine claims that Germany is a recycling world leader recycling around 1.6 million tons of residual materials each year. But it is not only simple or low-value products that are being spun out of recycled trash. These days, it is possible to precisely separate recycled materials as polyethylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride in order to re-use them in highvalue products – sometimes with the help of high-tech centrifuges and other ingenious devices. This technology has been developed over many years in Germany, where society’s decades-old calls for greater recycling efforts for primarily environmental reasons has helped form a central part of government policies. The recycled materials are of sufficiently high quality to meet the demands of the country’s car industry. High-tech cameras with image-recognition software, laser spectrometers and fluorescencemeasuring indicators can identify the various materials in the trash within fractions of a second.
“Recycling synthetic materials has become sexy,“ claims Thomas Pretz, Head of the Department of Processing and Recycling of Solid Waste Material at the Aachen Institute of Technology. The technology to separate trash has become so advanced that experts believe there is actually no longer any need for the “Gelbe Tonne“ (yellow recycling bin) into which companies and households have been dutifully placing all of their separated waste packaging materials. “Machines can actually separate the trash much more effectively than people can,“ said Professor Klaus Wiemer of the Department of Waste Management and Contaminated Sites Treatment at the University of Kassel. “Contemporary gold prospectors are no longer standing in rivers with sifts in their hands looking for the nuggets,“ wrote Wirtschaftswoche recently. “Instead, they are working through mountains of electronic scrap or are turning even piddly little fragments of plastic bags into expensive high-tech products.“ Scrap dealers are reporting booming business as trash has become so valuable. The price of tin, for instance, has tripled since 2006, while steel scrap is up 30 percent since the start of 2008. The downside, however, is that thieves often steal copper cables from wind turbines, railway equipment and construction sites. A doubling in the price of used paper since 2006 has led some outlaws to even empty out paper recycling bins – and make off with their unusual booty.
Photos: Der Grüne Punkt — Duales System Deutschland GmbH; ALBA AG
Soaring prices for commodities and natural resources have had a dramatic impact on prices for everything recycled from steel, electronic scrap, plastics and glass to used paper. The growing financial reward for recycling – fuelled by an insatiable worldwide demand for raw materials led by emerging markets, such as China and India – is turning into a mega trend. This trend is good news for German companies that have been at the cutting edge of developing recycling technologies for decades. Tougher environmental-protection regulations (particularly in the fight against greenhouse gases) in Europe and around the world is another factor that has put a premium on clean and green technologies – many of them made in Germany.
German Business
Germany’s Making IT Greener As they learn more about the environmental costs of IT products, the industry making them and the companies using them are pushing to maximize efficiency. German companies are leading the way. Going virtual doesn’t mean you have no real-world effects on the environment. In fact, recent studies have shown that IT is now responsible for 600 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, which is equal to those of 320 million cars – or all of the world’s air traffic. That comes, for example, from the three billion cell phones and one billion computers in use worldwide. And, in Germany alone, data centers used 8 TWh of electricity in 2006 – or 150% of the energy produced by the Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant. As people learn about these effects, more and more attention is being paid to green IT. The concept’s basic aim is to encourage the development and implementation of innovative products and applications that help limit the consumption of energy and materials both within the ICT industry itself and the sectors using its products and services.
Photos: www.cebit.de
For businesses, in particular, the issue isn’t just about being environmentally responsible. With energy costs continuing to climb in tandem with the total amount of electricity consumed by IT products, they are learning that saving the environment can simultaneously mean a significant reduction in operating expenses.
The seriousness being directed toward green IT can be seen, for example, by the fact that it was the main theme of this year’s CeBIT, the world’s largest digital IT and telecommunications trade fair held annually in Hanover. Areas of potential change include: – Virtualizing and consolidating servers to increase utilization averages to 50 percent from current levels of 5–20 percent. – Optimizing air-conditioning, ventilation and building design at computer centers to minimize energy consumption driven by cooling needs. – Making hardware more efficient by using optimized processors, power supply units, blowers, hard drives, monitors and graphics cards. – Encouraging efficient memory- and data-management by, for example, regularly deleting superfluous data and using different types of drives to store data depending on its value and how often it is accessed. – Recycling IT-related materials and making IT products from reusable and recyclable materials as well as increasing material efficiency in their packaging and transport. Companies in Germany are responding enthusiastically to the calls of green IT. For example, Fujitsu Siemens manufactures a line of green PCs, Cisco uses visual conferencing, and Dell has become completely carbon neutral.
Moreover, the top 10 entries on this year’s Green500 list for the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers included three German entries, two of which were tied for first place.
CeBIT 2008: Bamboo Laptop
For IT companies, “going green” also means fostering a transformation in their clients’ awareness levels. Doing so presents its own challenges and opportunities, but the places where reductions can be made now are not hard to find. For example, financial service providers can encourage online “paper-free” banking to lower waste production. Auto producers can implement energy-saving software functions to maximize mileage or start and stop cars electrically. And commercial suppliers can use software to maximize delivery efficiency between central distribution and sales points. Doing so helps them – and us all. CeBIT 2008: Green IT Village
German Business
Sisters Are Doing IT for Themselves Likewise, the supposed hardcore gamer. Cut from the same DNA and genetic cloth as the games designer, central casting usually represents him either as a skateboarding teenager straight outta the ‘burbs or as a young male professional with a penchant for old-school game emulators borne of a nostalgic yearning for the personal computers of his youth.
Visitors at the GC-Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig
Chances are, if you were asked to come up with an identikit picture of the typical games designer, you’d come up with the following: a T-shirt wearing twentysomething with a carefully cultivated scrub of goatee, natural state of repose slouched over a desk, skater jeans at half-mast with a mug of coffee in one hand and a mouse busying the other. It’s a familiar representation, a cliché even, but one that enjoys general currency in popular mainstream culture. From the bookshelf to the TV screen, the world of computers and IT is one populated by hapless twenty- to thirty-something males-men in tune with the virtual world but hopelessly out of step with the real one. It’s there to see in writer T.C. Boyle’s most recent bestselling novel “Talk Talk” (which featured a main character who worked for a computer animation company providing special effects footage for action movies), and it’s also on the small screen in comedies like Britain’s “The IT Crowd” (which draws upon a cast of tech-obsessed male nerds to drive home the punchline). 22
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Computers, folk wisdom has it, are a male domain, and one peopled by the sort of men you’re most likely to encounter at a Lord of the Rings or Star Trek convention at that.
At the tail end of last year, Linda Breitlauch became Europe’s first female professor of game design. The academic, who studied dramatic composition in computer games as part of her studies at the Film and Television Academy (HFF) in Potsdam, Brandenburg, will lead the Game Design Program at the Media Design University of Applied Sciences (Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich). Breitlauch, who first discovered her love of video games as a child at a funfair on a family holiday in the south of France, is firmly of the mind that if you want to engage women in the world of gaming, then you have to involve them:
Interface development for a strategy game as part of Prof. Linda Breitlauch’s communications design course in Düsseldorf
Photos: gameconvention,Leipziger Messe GmbH / Uwe Frauendorf; Prof. Breitlauch
But just how true is either representation in these fast-moving, blink-and-you’llmiss-it virtual times? In Germany, a new generation of pioneering female games designers is challenging the long-held gender assumptions within the gaming industry.
German Business
Photos: gameconvention, Leipziger Messe GmbH / Uwe Frauendorf; wii-fit,Nintendo Europe GmbH
“If you want to win women as computer game players, then you have to promote the training of women as game designers.” According to Breitlauch, girls up to the age of 14 are just as active in the gaming world as their male counterparts. Women, she argues, prefer strategy games and simulations; challenging games that require high levels of mental dexterity and ingenuity. Older female game players begin to drift away as the industry fails to cater to meet their gaming needs. Although men and women alike have similar requirements, Breitlauch believes that female gamers place more importance on intellectually demanding games with a highly developed dramatic narratives that mirror real-life conflicts. This is in sharp relief to the preponderance of “beat ‘em up” games that typically crowd together at the top end of the video game bestseller charts. Simply making games consoles available in lurid pink in order to capture the female market is not an option – at least not if the industry is genuinely serious about reaching a female audience older than eight years of age. However, Europe’s first female game design professor believes that changes in the industry are already afoot, pointing to the increasing number of women working in the industry. As Breitlauch correctly observes, it’s not just in the rarified world of academia that women are making their presence felt. Increasingly more women are making their way into the boardrooms of game companies or going it alone, as is the case with Carolin Batke. Willowy and elegant, the blond forty-something – who describes her personal mission as being “games for women!” – is as far from the clichéd “slacker” games designer as is possible to imagine. Two years ago Batke founded Zampano Studios in Berlin. Previously at SEK (the company responsible for developing the successful “Wiggles” and “Paraworld” games), Batke was keen to strike out to make her own decisions. As well as developing games, Zampano Studios designs games for other developers. Batke agrees with Breitlauch that making a good game is just like making a good film, arguing that there should be enough going on to ensure that the player doesn’t get bored too easily.
After completing her mechanical engineering studies (which provided a first introduction to 3D modeling), the Zampano Studios boss began work at a software company. Although she found that she enjoyed the work, she also quickly discovered that she didn’t enjoy her employee status quite as much. “I wanted to be free, to have the opportunity to try everything out which came to mind.” As a result, she founded SEK with colleagues, only to find that the publisher who had acquired the rights to the company’s first game was calling all of the important shots. “That was like being an employee, only with a higher risk.” Zampano Studios, in contrast, does not have a publisher but, instead, seeks out clients requiring the company’s gamedevelopment services. The advent of a new generation of computer game consoles is a sign that the industry is finally sitting up and taking notice of the previously much-neglected female market. The success of Nintendo’s Wii console, which places greater emphasis upon interactive playing pleasure as opposed to frenzied bashing of buttons, suggests a subtle transformation in the world of gaming. Nintendo’s Wii Fit (an exercise game played using Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board) represents one clear attempt at making in-roads into the female market (albeit by addressing conventional female concerns relating to weight and appearance).
Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board
Nevertheless, computer and console games are entering more complex territory and becoming increasingly more cinematic and interactive as they draw on the creative possibilities being opened up by new technologies. In an industry that has long since surpassed Hollywood in the revenue stakes and that generates turnover in the two billion euro region in Germany alone, it makes good business sense to reach out beyond a core gaming audience of tortured male teens and would-be warlords to embrace an untapped female market. Pioneers like Germany’s Linda Breitlauch and Carolin Batke are showing the way. The industry, it seems, is finally listening.
Visitors at the GC-Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig 23
German Business
Mayor’s Hobby Brings World-Class Business to Windhagen Rüddel then moves on to Noelken, an enterprise that earned EUR 70 million with its hygiene products in 2007. Further stops include Kornmeyer Graphit and Geutebrück, which makes video surveillance systems.
The mayor of Windhagen is 83-year-old Josef Rüddel. He has been in office since 1963. A farmer by training, Rüddel's avocation is the reason why the town looks the way it does today. Just as a model train enthusiast would carefully select choice houses, businesses and industrial complexes to place on the train board, Rüddel says that, in his free time, he enjoys luring the best businesses to locate in Windhagen.
Others will tell you there is a bit more to it than that. They say Windhagen has two attractions that entrepreneurs highly appreciate: land and freedom.
“My finest hobby is getting firms to settle here,” says Rüddel. He gladly takes visitors on a tour of the town, showing them companies, such as bathroom-textile maker Batex and Noma, which makes bearings, gears, gearing and driving elements.
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Geutebrück CEO Katharina Geutebrück describes the methods Rüddel uses to lure choice businesses to Windhagen. “It was an offer that we could not refuse,” she says.
One of the bigger jewels in Windhagen's commercial crown is Wirtgen GmbH, which makes road-building machines. Windhagen local Reinhard Wirtgen founded the company as a haulage firm in 1961 and it just grew and grew. Reinhard's son and current board member Jürgen Wirtgen says Rüddel uses “unconventional means” to bring companies in and keep them there. “The routes are short and direct. That is how Windhagen has become what it is,” says Jürgen Wirtgen.
Wirtgen is referring to the absence of the bureaucracy many often associate with Germany. Rüddel elaborates: “We really do not enjoy dealing in terms of rules and regulations. We prefer talking to people directly.” To illustrate his point he describes what he did the first time he lured a company – Bayer subsidiary Agfa – to Windhagen.Back then, says Rüddel, there was not much in the town, but Bayer executives did come to hunt in the nearby forests.
One of the “jewels” of Windhagen: Wirtgen GmbH
At the time, the mayor got wind of the fact Bayer was planning to locate Agfa in Bad Honnef, just 20 kilometers away. When the executives came in for drinks and a meal after a long day in the woods, Rüddel was there and told them, “You need land? I'll get it for you. Roads? We'll build them. Water and electricity? Not a problem. Permits? You're not serious! Taxes? You'll be pleased when you see the rates.” After that, word got around that Windhagen was special. The rest is history.
Photo: Wirtgen Gmbh
An aerial photograph of the small German town of Windhagen could easily be mistaken for an advertisement for a Märklin® model railway. Nestled in the Siebengebirge, or Seven Hills, region of Rhineland-Palatinate, the town itself is home to some 600 people. The tiny community employs more than twice the number of its population and has an annual municipal council budget of a whopping EUR 20 million.
Top Science & Research Location
Adlershof: On the Runway to Success Almost a century ago, Berliners would have travelled in droves to see air shows at Johannisthal airfield in Adlershof, near Berlin. This urban development area (now known as the Science and Technology Park at the City of Sciences, Economy and Media in Berlin-Adlershof) is continuing its long international association with highfliers- be it pilots, scientists or simply innovators developing cutting-edge knowhow and state-of-the-art equipment.
Photo: WISTA-MG, www.adlershof.de
Correspondingly, there are two stateowned companies in charge of managing the site. These are WISTA (supervised by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Labor and Women's Issues), which settles R&D companies and institutes in the science park, and Adlershof Projekt GmbH (supervised by the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development), which bears responsibility for the area and marketing the 4.2 millionsquare-meter (420 hectare) site. The cooperation between an operating company (WISTA) and a land developer (AP) helps make Adlershof the undoubted success it is today.
Center for Photonics and Optical Technologies, Berlin-Adlershof
The remaining investment has been made by universities, federal R&D institutes and private companies. Public investments have been highly subsidized through EU and federal-state funding. These investments are beginning to pay off.
Adlershof is a major stop along what development officials call the “south east investment corridor.” It starts in the city center at the German capital's new main railway station, the Hauptbahnhof, and follows major thoroughfares south east toward the region's largest construction project – the Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport (BBI). In a recent interview, the Chief Executive Officer of the Adlershof Project GmbH, Gerhard Steindorf, explained: “The new airport will be only seven minutes away.”
A recent study carried out by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) described Adlershof in glowing terms: “The Science and Technology Park has become an economic engine for Berlin.” DIW also says Adlershof is Germany's “biggest science and technology cluster.” The Managing Director of WISTA Management GmbH, Hardy Schmitz, described the approach: “By using planned economy in the long term, we got the market economy up and running.”
The Adlershof project-development company has spent nearly two decades revamping and reviving Adlershof – formerly home to the Academy of Sciences and the state television station of Eastern Germany. Since reunification, overall investment has reached a sum of EUR 1.5 billion, of which around EUR 600 million has been spent on infrastructure alone.
Economic growth figures confirm as much. In 2007, the growth rate for Adlershof was 10 percent. DIW statistics published in January showed that more than 750 firms employing some 12,500 people were located in the complex. Some are engaged in research or teaching, while others work in industry – something which Berlin's economy and the region need.
One of the booming businesses at Adlers hof is solar energy. Sulfurcell is a company that manufactures solar cells using a copper-indium-sulfide (CIS) compound. The firm says it is seeking some 160 additional workers in order to increase its production at Adlershof tenfold. Another enterprise is from the US – Global Solar Energy. At the start of this year, it invested EUR 30 million in a production plant for thin-film solar cells of copper, indium, gallium and diselinide (CIGSe). Fastgrowing Solon AG is also locating its R&D HQ, administration and system production lines in Adlershof. Available land and space has also helped attract developers to Adlershof, including many from abroad. Two years ago, British investor CLS Holdings plc bought the Adlershofer Tor office complex. Many who choose to locate at Adlershof say that its mix of technology-oriented businesses, key university departments, expert site management and networking potential make it unique. With qualities like that, it looks like business and industry at Adlers hof have only one place to go – up. More information: www.adlershof.de
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Plasma Technology Opens up New Dimensions German plasma technology occupies a leading international position. Experts consider German plasma researchers to be on a level with their counterparts in the United States and Japan. In fact, in some areas they are even ahead. We spoke to Prof. Klaus-Dieter Weltmann, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald) and Dr. Marko Häckel, Head of Staff at INP and CEO of the company neoplas GmbH about plasma research and its potential business applications. In what areas is plasma technology applied?
What are the overall objectives of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology in Greifswald? Klaus-Dieter Weltmann: The Leibniz Institute in Greifswald is the largest non-university research institute in the area of low-temperature plasmas in Europe. Like other Leibniz Institutes, we combine basic research with its application – from the idea to the prototype. This means that we carry out application-oriented basic research and development as well as optimizing established plasma-assisted procedures and products. Here we work closely with partners from industry and other research institutes, such as universities, depending on their area of interest. What is the focus of your work? Klaus-Dieter Weltmann: We concentrate on three specific areas of research where plasma plays – or should play – a key role. These areas are environment and energy, surfaces and materials, and biology and medicine.
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Can you give me some practical examples? Marko Häckel: Certainly. With the help of plasma technology, we can activate the surfaces of plastics. Our plasma can ensure that the paint stays on your car's bumper and doesn't peel off every time you brush against something.
Dr. Marko Häckel
We are currently also working on a handy machine for plasma treatments – a sort of thick pen. You just run it across something and the plasma penetrates the surface and does its job – even getting into complex cavities. This type of surface activation is of interest to business for sticking textiles or plastics, for instance. In the medical field, we can use plasma to kill off cells or, alternatively, encourage growth. And we can use plasma to break down poisonous compounds in the treatment of exhaust air – an example of business and ecology working hand in hand. How is plasma technology contributing to medical technology? Klaus-Dieter Weltmann: People are generally aware that plasma can be used for sterilization without the addition of chemicals. Currently in development are procedures for the disinfection of heat-sensitive medical devices such as catheters. Plasma can also stimulate growth. Together with the University of Greifswald, we are working on a plasma-supported method of healing wounds that disinfects at the same time as helping the tissue cells underneath regenerate better. This research is still at an early stage.
Photos: Stephan Rudolph-Kramer
Prof. Klaus-Dieter Weltmann
Klaus-Dieter Weltmann: Plasma technology is an established and indispensible tool in many branches of industry and technology. It is used everywhere where quality, productivity, environmental compatibility, precision and flexibility are crucial. However, most of the time plasma technology remains hidden from view. You won't often find it actually mentioned in product names – plasma TVs being an exception. Surfaces from a wide range of materials can be coated, functionalized, cleaned, sterilized or etched with the help of plasma. Plasma can be used to remove pollutants, odors or germs from exhaust air. Of particular interest to industry is the use of plasma in the modeling and diagnostics of electric arcs. This has applications in welding technology, mediumand high-voltage switches for energy transmission, and high-pressure lamps. In these areas, we are very much in demand as a cooperation partner. But we also work in areas such as fuel cells, catalysts, nanoparticles and gas analysis. We currently have around 140 co-workers at INP working on a wide range of exciting projects.
What Is Plasma Technology? Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter. This can be exemplified with water. In the form of ice, water is a fixed body. If one adds heat (energy), it becomes a liquid. If we add further energy still, it turns into a gas. However, if we add even more energy to a gas, it becomes plasma, a state in which external electrons separate off from the gas atoms or molecules.
Microorganisms being treated with the Plasma Jet kINPen developed by the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology
In other areas, we are further down the line. To prevent infections in patients with implants, for example, the surfaces of the implants will be treated in future with plasma, making the anti-infection drugs even more effective.
We also offer research institutes a service aimed at the professional marketing of science under the slogan “Design Meets Science.” Examples of our technical services include surface analysis and simulations of plasmas.
How are the scientific innovations translated into commercial applications?
What international research institutes do you cooperate with?
Marko Häckel: The company neoplasm GmbH was set up by the Leibniz Institute as a technology-transfer center. Our slogan is: “From the prototype to the product.” We take the prototypes produced by INP and develop the ideas further. This often involves more work than in the previous stage carried out by INP – from the idea to the prototype. We form the link between the science and business worlds. Increasingly, we also offer our services on a national and even international basis – for EU-funded projects, for example. We carry out development work and provide services aimed at making specific applications and prototypes marketable. And we can also help with related marketing and company start-ups.
Photo: Stephan Rudolph-Kramer
What concrete services does neoplasm GmbH offer companies? Marko Häckel: Our unique selling point is our knowledge of the worlds of academia, industry and public administration. This means that we can assist in areas ranging from designing and building a device right up to carrying out market analyses and feasibility studies. If the market assessment is positive, we can support the product marketing process, too. 27
Klaus-Dieter Weltmann: One of our projects was setting up the BalticNet-PlasmaTec Network in cooperation with the Greifswald Technology Center. This international network aims to bring together all those working in plasma technology in the Pomerania Euroregion and beyond, into Scandinavia and the Baltic region, for the mutual benefit of all parties. Key partners in the network are the technical universities in the Polish cities of Szczecin and Koszalin. Together with partners from the United States – such as the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics – Japan and Germany, we are actively involved in the International Consortium on Bioelectrics. We cooperate with the leading institutes in our field at German universities. We also work with the CNRS research center in Toulouse and the universities of Eindhoven, Nagoya (Japan) and St. Petersburg. Furthermore, we have recently signed a cooperation agreement with partners from Korea, and next year we intend to step up our activities in Israel and Russia. We are busy right around the globe. Contact: weltmann@inp-greifswald.de marko.haeckel@neoplas.eu
Matter in plasma state is found in the sun and in all stars. The solar wind produced by the sun and the charged particles caught in the earth's magnetic field also form plasmas. Technical plasmas are gases that are only partially ionized. They can be at room temperature overall (low temperature plasmas), but the free electrons react very easily. Technical plasmas are indispensible tools in many branches of industry. They can be used to change surfaces in specific ways. Super-hard coatings with properties similar to diamonds are already in widespread use. These coatings are made of carbon and protect laminations from erosion, abrasion and corrosion. Plasma processes are safe, use few resources and are environmentally sound. Thanks to their high level of flexibility, they are relatively easy to adapt in solving various problems. Plasma Research in Greifswald For almost 100 years, Greifswald has been an internationally recognized center for plasma research. Alongside the Institute of Physics at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University, it is also home to the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) and the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics. These three plasma research institutes currently have a total of approximately 600 employees. Within this network, the task of the INP is to promote plasma technology.
Innovative Germany
+++++ Innovation News +++++ Ecocycling One of the biggest challenges industrialized society faces is dealing with what we throw away. The simplest answer is recycling: making new stuff out of old stuff. But not everything can be recycled – or can it?
Solar energy is a wonderful thing, but the bright arrays of solar panels coming into increasing use around the world to generate power have an enemy: dirt. Whether it’s the natural accumulation from rain, pollen from nearby trees or the dust deposited by desert winds, dirt on the surface of a solar cell cuts its efficiency. Enter 23-year-old Aachen-based inventor Ridha Azaiz and his Wallwalker robot. This six-kilo device employs eight legs ending in suckers, which enable it to walk on the smooth glass surface of a power array, spraying a fine mist of demineralized water, which rids the surface of dirt with the help of a light brush. The robot is powered by the solar plant itself, with the Wallwalker being powered through a line, which also serves as a tether. The Wallwalker can operate on 90-degree surfaces, and its light weight also makes it ideal for situations where a person’s weight would be insupportable. Azaiz has shown prototypes of the robot at solar energy fairs in Singapore, Munich and Hanover, and he has attracted significant interest from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Arab world, both of which are places where massive investment in solar power is underway.
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The basic idea was first developed by a German scientist in 1981, but only recently has a way to implement it been developed. A plant in Würzburg is currently ecocycling 80 tons a day. The material produced, called CM 500, has been rigorously tested to make certain it’s safe, as some of its components aren’t. But the sealant holding the product together has been artificially aged to simulate 50 years’ use with no adverse effects.
Pumping CO2 into the Ground Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are one of the major factors in today’s global climate-change crisis. Radically lowering the amount of the gas released into the air is a priority for today’s energy industry which continues to emit the gas in the course of burning coal to generate electricity. Unfortunately, while the search for alternatives goes on, we need energy now.
Power Dressing When you’re out on the ski slopes, it’s nice to have some of the comforts of home with you – not to mention something you can use to communicate with the ski patrol, should something go wrong. Of course, you can ease your mind for hours listening to your iPod as you glide down the slopes with your cell phone in your pocket – but only as long as you’ve remembered to charge them before you leave the lodge. But now, Italian designer Ermengildo Zegna – in cooperation with Berlin solar technology firm Sola – has seen to it that you don’t need to remember. With its new Solar Ski JKT jacket from subsidiary ZegnaSport, you can keep your devices charged via solar panels integrated into its collar (which can be removed for cleaning or off-garment charging) and stow them in specially designed pockets in the garment itself.
Power station “Schwarze Pumpe”
At the end of June, German scientists operating at a facility in Ketzin, just outside Berlin, began pumping CO2 underground into a saline aquifer to test whether it could be contained there. The project, which is being led by the European energy firm Vattenfall with help from the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam, will continue through 2009 with the aim of making the technology available by 2020. Although it’s far from foolproof – for one thing, it requires energy for the sequestration in the aquifer, which reduces the output of the generating plant – it may signal a future for coal-burning plants already in operation. And if it proves safe, a significant amount of CO2 will be removed from the environment.
Photos: Wallwalker; Vattenfall
Wallwalker Cleans It
This is the question that a recently developed process called “ecocyling” hopes to answer. Ecocycling grinds down waste to harmless pellets, which can then be turned into building materials, fertilizer, or board. Not only that, but ecocycling operates at a far lower temperature than the current incineration solution for such waste, which makes it a far more energyefficient process.
It’s not cheap at just under a thousand dollars but it’s certainly innovative. Previous attempts at such clothing have been tried out since the late 1990s, but early prototypes by firms like Levi Strauss and Nike, while they worked, were ungainly and failed to attract much interest from consumers. Now, German technology and Italian fashion have joined together to give a whole new meaning to the term “power dressing.”
Innovative Germany
+++++ Innovation News +++++ Better Vision Pity the poor wearer of glasses: Although the technology for improving vision using lenses has been around for centuries, it hasn’t really improved dramatically until just recently. But using high technology, the Carl Zeiss company has come up with a way to measure eyes so that lenses can be fitted to meet an individual’s needs like never before. Glasses manufactured to the specifications produced by Zeiss’s i-Profiler technology provide better contrast in front of computer screens and in difficult lighting situations. They also allow the wearer to experience colors with unprecedented accuracy. Using the Zeiss technology, an optician can take a customer’s measurements, allowing a newly developed algorithm to convert this data into manufacturing specifications accurate to up to one 100th of a diopter instead of one 25th. Among the benefits wearers of glasses made this way are significantly increased accuracy of vision when driving at twilight or in the early morning. Moreover, they’ve also reported a new willingness to wear glasses. That’s got to be good news for everyone.
The Trent 1000 is the lead engine
Titanium Turbines
Photos: C arl Zeiss Vision; Rolls-Royce plc 2006
The “i.profiler” device of Carl Zeiss Vision GmbH
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When it comes to building aircraft, two seemingly contradictory factors come into play: The material used must be as light as possible and as strong as possible. At the Rolls Royce aircraft engine plant in Dahlewitz, near Berlin, they’re getting ready to test jet turbines made out of a revolutionary new substance developed during a 15-year research project at the GKSS Research Center in Geesthacht, near Hamburg. There has been a worldwide search for a better material for turbines, and several have been found, but none of this quality. “The search for a perfect alloy takes time,” said Michael Oehring, at the Geesthacht facility.
for the Boeing 787
The newly-developed titanium-aluminum alloy is only half as heavy as nickel or iron, yet it can withstand temperatures of up to 700 degrees Celsius, making it ideal for jets. If the manufacturing process succeeds, Rolls Royce may well turn out to have a decisive advantage over its two main competitors – Pratt-Whitney and General Electric – in this area. Fifteen years is a long time to spend researching a single alloy, but it looks like persistence really does pay off.
Innovative Germany
The Artificial Diamond Heart Diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend anymore. In fact, a company in Ulm has already managed to seduce a broad range of high-precision manufacturers with its increasingly diverse diamond-based products. Established in 1999, GFD (Gesellschaft für Diamantprodukte) initially developed many of its technologies – diamond-based products and components for the medical field and semiconductor industry – which boast some of the world’s smallest diamond blades. Now the company is turning its attention to watchmakers.
It quickly became a leading company in diamond microstructuring, focusing on diamond-coated hard metal blades with plasma-sharpened cutting edges and micro-parts manufactured from pure diamond using the company’s advanced deep-reactive ion-etching (DRIE) technology. It was this technological knowhow that made GFD the ideal partner for Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin. In 2005, Ulysse Nardin became the first watchmaker to utilize GFD technology with the launch of its Freak 28,800 V/h Diamond Heart, featuring an escapement made entirely of diamond.
However, since diamond is the hardest material in the world, the process of cutting and shaping the diamond parts is very difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Ulysse Nardin only made 99 models of the limited-edition Diamond Heart model, but it partnered GFD on its 2007 follow-up model, the Freak DIAMonSIL, whose movement is made of synthetic nanocrystalline diamonds grown on a silicon core (which, unlike the Diamond Heart, retains the silicon base). This latest technological advancement allows alloying the light and easy-todesign silicon with diamond. While the DIAMonSIL was the first timepiece to ever sport a synthetic nanocrystal diamond escapement grown on a raw silicon part, it was nonetheless more economical to produce because there is no need to etch complex shapes from diamond wafers, as is the case with the Diamond Heart. Instead, the wheel shape can be cut immediately from softer silicon with diamond grown around it until the desired dimensions are reached. As a result, the DIAMonSIL’s nanocrystalline diamond movement costs about a 10th of the price of the Diamond Heart’s polycrystalline diamond escape wheels.
“Freak Diamond Heart” of Ulysse Nardin: The world’s first watch movement made with diamond components
GFD founders André Flöter and Peter Gluche established the company after spinning it off from a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler Research and the University of Ulm.
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To make the escapement wheels, GFD artificially grew the diamond, layer by layer, on a silicon base. When the diamond form was fully grown, the silicon base was removed in a process known as plasma etching (but, more precisely, deep-reactive ion etching), which uses electrified gases to eat away at the silicon material.
The application of the hardest material known to man offers entirely new design possibilities and advanced features, including near immunity to the effects of temperature variation. More companies are certain to get in on a trend that is revolutionizing modern watchmaking. Indeed, Swiss watchmaker Greubel Forsey has already acquired the rights to work with the diamond material pioneered by GFD and Ulysse Nardin. Last year, he unveiled the world’s first diamond balance wheel and spiral at the BASELWORLD watch fair.
Photo: ulysse-nardin
Technically, there is little difference between the Diamond Heart and the DIAMonSIL: Both have the key contact areas made of diamond with no need for lubrication and practically no wear. GFD is already looking at using the technology to manufacture other watch-movement components. In addition to silicon, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, tungsten carbide and titanium can all be covered with nanocrystalline diamond.
The Aging Society
Sporty seniors in Frankfurt am Main at the beginning of the “Walking Day” program
Senior Consumers in the Fast Lane Germany, like other industrialized countries, is aging. As a result, a large percentage of the German population consists of older-than-average people 50 years old and above. And this trend is expected to continue for the next half century: In 2005, there were 16 million Germans who were 65 years old or older, and the number is expected to climb to 23 million by 2050.
Photo: www.die-praevention.de
Nor are these feeble old people. Germany’s long tradition of excellent health care sees these people remaining vital and active far longer than previous generations and requiring goods and services consistent with an active lifestyle. What this means for investors should be obvious: Businesses serving older people will be a growth sector for years to come. And this goes beyond the obvious medical needs of an aging population (although Germany’s commitment to cutting-edge medical and pharmaceutical research, development and production has been well-documented elsewhere).
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With the vast majority of this demographic group already retired and with free time in which to pursue individual interests and a retirement income sufficient to do so, there will be opportunities for businesses specifically tailored to addressing their needs to thrive. Hand in hand with the medical sector goes the wellness sector: services and products to maintain good health, from exercise equipment and sports clothing to food products tailored to seniors’ specific dietary needs. Neighborhood services, including activity centers, delivery services and the construction of special shopping centers, will all likewise gain a higher profile. Retail itself will be transformed to serve this well-heeled demographic group, with goods being marketed specifically to it, while retail outlets will be designed to appeal to these older consumers. The clothing industry will boom from the need to supply clothing to older bodies, and designers will have to keep this group’s preferences in mind.
Another way this demographic group differs from previous generations of older Germans is in its independence. It has become used to its own media, and that need will continue in all media fields, from publishing and entertainment to advertising. But it has also come of age during the computer revolution and has shown itself ready to embrace new technologies with a speed that would have been unthinkable only a few decades ago. One growth area may be social networking, which the Internet has utterly changed in a few years. These people aren’t going to be sitting around the house, either. They’ve always been active and will continue to be. Tourism – not of the old “senior tour” type, but independent tourism with a focus on making individuals comfortable while underway – will continue to be an important activity, and culture, which has always been central to this group’s self-definition, will also be a major focus of its lives, as will continuous education. And finally, financial services focused on managing senior incomes will handle ever larger amounts of money for people who are living longer to spend it.
About Us
ExpoAlemania 2008 Strengthens Germany’s Ties to Chile and Latin America
The exhibition took place for only the second time, but already it has seen a significant rise in displays and visitors, with 160 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors descending onto Santiago de Chile from September 25 – 27, 2008 for ExpoAlemania. During the largest exhibition of German products, services and innovations in South America, leading German companies and research institutes, such as Bayer, Bosch, DHL and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft displayed both the vast German economic integration into the economies of Chile and Latin America and the advantages of Germany to Latin American investors. The economies of Germany and Latin America are well connected. Total German foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America is EUR 24 billion, twice the level of Germany’s FDI in China. Germany’s trade volume (imports plus exports) with Latin America hit EUR 42 billion in 2007, a new record high. As host country to ExpoAlemania, Chile has an impressive economic record. It is Latin America’s top-ranked country in economic stability, quality of life and fighting corruption, and its annual growth rates reach five to six percent.
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Invest in Germany Magazine
With a population of only 16 million, it has become a shining example of stability and growth over recent years and is a top country in which to scout new investors interested in Europe. It is also an important trading partner for Germany, especially in machinery and chemicals. Many major Chilean companies are active in Germany. For example, South America’s largest logistics company, CSAV, has a German subsidiary in Hamburg. The Chilean state-owned mining company and world’s leading copper producer, Codelco, has entered into a joint venture with Norddeutsche Affinerie, the largest copper producer in Europe. Lastly, the Chilean chemicals company Molymet has invested over EUR 20 million in a subsidiary in the German town of Bitterfeld. The 11th Latin American conference of German Industry took place alongside ExpoAlemenia 2008. This conference focused on maintaining sustainable economic growth in Latin America and on further intensifying Latin America’s economic relationship to Germany. ExpoAlemania debuted in 2005 and takes place every three years in Santiago de Chile. It is organized by the Germany-Chile Bi-National Chamber of Commerce (AHK Chile). Invest in Germany was a strategic partner of this year’s exhibition. ExpoAlemania was topped off on its last day by the visit of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who made a point of stopping at the Invest in Germany stand.
(from left) Hugo Lavados, Chilean Minister of Economy, Development and Reconstruction; Hartmut Schauerte, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology; Michael Pfeiffer, Managing Director Invest in Germany; Cornelia Sonnenberg, General Manager GermanChilean Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
According to Michael Pfeiffer, Managing Director of Invest in Germany, the ExpoAlemania was a huge success: “The active interest shown by visitors in German products, services and innovations was truly impressive.” Through her visit, President Bachelet confirmed the importance of the trade relationship between Germany and Chile. “Germany currently enjoys a very good reputation in Chile, and ExpoAlemania further strengthened this good impression,” Pfeiffer said. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet with Michael Pfeiffer, Managing Director of Invest in Germany
Photos: Invest in Germany
As travelers made their way into the Chilean capital, Santiago, from the international airport, they were greeted again and again by an outstretched robotic hand welcoming them with a friendly “Hallo, mein Name ist Innovation.” The eyecatching posters, which decorated Santiago’s buses and city lights, were announcing the biggest bilateral exhibition in South America, ExpoAlemania 2008.
About Us
Clean Energy Leaders Feature New Technologies at Japan-Germany Industry Forum
Over 600 guests attended the Japan-Germany Industry Forum in Tokyo and Osaka
Keynote speaker: Wolfgang Tiefensee, German Federal Minister of Transport, Buildung and Urban Affairs
Imagine a world in which we could continue to draw on energy from solar panels, even if it is not sunny for long stretches of time, or where energy could be stored from wind mills, even with long windless periods, that could then be used to power electric cars. Japan is a leader in developing such technologies, and Germany is a market with a huge potential for these kinds of applications.
Yuriko Koike, former Environment Minister of Japan and German Federal Minister
Photos: Invest in Germany
Wolfgang Tiefensee with a publication of Invest in Germany titled Powerhouse Eastern Germany: The Prime Location for Cleantech Leaders
Clean energy executives, business consultants, and government officials from Germany and Japan discussed Germany as an investment location for Japanese companies at the 4th annual Japan-Germany Industry Forum. The forum took place on October 22nd and 24th, 2008 in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Over 600 guests attended the two events. 33
German Federal Minister for Transport, Building, and Urban Affairs, and Commissioner for the New Federal States, Wolfgang Tiefensee gave the keynote address pointing out the outstanding investment climate for clean-tech in Eastern Germany. He outlined how Japanese companies are benefiting from the outstanding and motivated employees in Eastern Germany, as well as from the region’s transport infrastructure and incentives landscape. From the Japanese side, Mrs. Yuriko Koike, former Environment Minister of Japan, spoke about the importance both nations see in finding environmentally friendly energy technologies and developing partnerships. She also praised Germany’s leading role in shaping clean energy policy. The solar energy market is expected to grow by double digits in coming years in Germany, and the largest cluster of photovoltaic companies worldwide is found in Eastern Germany. One reason for this growth is the outstanding research landscape in Germany. This was the topic of Dr. Rutger Schlatmann’s presentation. Dr. Schlatmann represented the PV Competence Center Berlin (PVcomB), a joint initiative of TU Berlin and Helmholtz Center Berlin, one of the world’s leading research institutes in PV and one that works closely with PV companies. Japanese clean-tech investors are already active in Eastern Germany.
Yamaichi Electronics Co. has made an investment in Frankfurt/Oder, where it manufactures sockets for solar panels. German speakers from the consultancy Roland Berger, the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT (an internationally renowned research center), and the energy company EnBW underlined that with the growing share of renewable energies (in 2020 expected wind and PV installed power capacity: 47,370 MW) in the German energy mix the necessity for installing storage capacity will increase and that market players are looking to develop applications in this segment. The Japanese manufacturers NGK Insulators Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation presented their activities in the segment of battery technologies. NGK is the only company in the world manufacturing NAS batteries (sodium-sulfur), and it has already installed several of them in wind power stations. The Invest in Germany publication “Power House Eastern Germany: The Prime Location for Cleantech Leaders” provides a detailed examination of the factors making Eastern Germany an attractive investment location for clean-tech investors. It can also be downloaded from the Invest in Germany website via the following link: http://w w w.invest-in-germany.com/uploads/media/Powerhouse_Eastern_Germany_ENG_Invest_in_Germany_02.pdf
Germany and the Germans
82 %
The Numbers Tell the Story If you want to do business in a foreign country, it is of vital importance to know how the people think and live there. Statistics can often seem dull, but these numbers are the most important and exciting way of finding out more about consumer habits. Read some “telling” statistics that “Der Spiegel” magazine collected.
Per Capita Consumption
Germans’ longevity
1900
2005/2006
bread vegetables, salad potatoes fat and oil
139,2 kg 61,5 kg 271,1 kg 3,2 kg
85,9 kg 95,1 kg 27,0 kg 27,0 kg
1900 1951 2007
women 43.4 women 68.5 women 82.1
average life expectancy for newborns, in years source: Der Spiegel
source: Der Spiegel
Leisure time in Germany
How Germans get to work
46 % sports events 39 % going out to eat 13 % movies 6 % opera, theater, classical concerts 3 % rock, pop, jazz concerts, recreational activities enjoyed at least once a month
67 % by car 18 % by bike/by foot 85 % by public transportation source: Statistisches Bundesamt
source: BAT, Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen 2007
Number of automobiles in Germany
How secure do you think your job is for the next two years
1950 > 539,853 2008 > 41,180,000
85% secure
source: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt
Stolen cars – thief's dream car BMW X5 3.0d 2004 Volkswagen R32 Volkswagen Transporter source: GDV
Dream cars – the car most Germans would like to own (2007) Audi A4
Floor space on average
source: Statistisches Bundesamt
Invest in Germany Magazine
5500
Private household’s monthly expenditure (2005) EUR 662 EUR 270 EUR 268 EUR 232 EUR 95 EUR 13
housing and energy cars and transportation food and beverages hobbies and leisure clothes and shoes education source: Statistisches Bundesamt
70.6 m2 rentals 117.7 m2 condominiums
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14% insecure source: Statistisches Bundesamt
VW Rabbit source: TNS infratest
m²
men 40.6 men 64.5 men 76.6
Gross monthly salary of full-time employees (2007 average) women EUR 2,793
men EUR 3,702 source: Statistisches Bundesamt
The German Chamber Network | AHK All Around the Globe: • Algeria • Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belarus • Belgium • Bolivia • Bosnia and Herzegovina
AHK - Your Bridge to the German Market All Around the Globe: The German Chamber Network | AHK More and more foreign companies consider Germany to be a leading market and the best gateway to the European Union. To be successful, foreign companies need a strong partner.
First port of call: The German Chamber Network Spread over 80 countries in six continents. Support of thousands of German companies operating abroad. Fully integrated into the economy of the host countries. More than 40,000 member companies, of which two thirds originate in the local markets. Assisting foreign companies that want to enter the German market either by trade or through investment.
Deutsche Auslandshandelskammern
Providing contacts, information and advice, particularly in the fields of: market opportunities and marketing strategies investment conditions and support import and export regulations customs duties currency regulations Closely cooperating with Invest in Germany, the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The German Chamber Network
Contact: Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce D -11052 Berlin | Germany Tel. ++49-(0)30-20308-0 | Fax ++49-(0)30-20308 -1000 Internet: www.dihk.de, www.ahk.de
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