Everything under one roof: research, development, and companies

 

Heidelberg, Germany, May 2023 – Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have extended the usage agreement through the end of 2024 and InnovationLab GmbH will provide the appropriate infrastructure.

Acting as a partner to universities and offering them cutting-edge infrastructure on its premises so that they can intensify their research is a focus of InnovationLab GmbH. “Our motto is ‘everything under one roof,’” says Dr. Tanja Benedict, general manager of iL and responsible for the innovation platform and collaboration with universities, “we plan to remodel and renovate our laboratories and offices so that the scientific areas can engage in interdisciplinary exchange and can make use of the direct contact to industry.” Dialogue with the industrial sector is the keyword.

Recently, the usage agreement with the University of Heidelberg and the KIT was extended through the end of 2024. A positive signal, because it is about bringing researchers, developers and companies together as users and producers and actively driving technology transfer. Thinking in terms of applications is a helpful approach for all partners.

In addition to laboratories, clean rooms and offices, InnovationLab will also invest in a mircofabrication tool that uses two-photon polymerization (2PP) technology. This device will enable iL users to produce microstructures with a precision of a few nanometers, which opens the door for new applications, for instance in photonics, microfluids and biology. “In the end, we look for the best high-tech device that can be used in a number of way,” says Dr. Jean-Nicolas Tisserant, scientific point of contact for the universities at iL, “especially because the parameters in biophysics are different than those in optics.” Tisserant maintains close contacts, interacting, testing needs in 3D printing and the possibility of the series production of materials that result from research and whose function is derived from their microstructure.

 “Additive manufacturing, in particular the printing of materials, is quite a significant technology when new materials need to be brought to market more quickly. This is of great importance for Baden-Württemberg as a center of industry as well as for Germany as a whole,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Vice President of Research at KIT. “This enables us to prototype new materials that were developed at the KIT – primarily in the important application fields of energy, production technology and health care technology – and even develop them to market maturity in the best case.”

The 3D Matter Made to Order (3DMM2O) excellence cluster, which is jointly supported by the University of Heidelberg and the KIT, follows a heavily interdisciplinary approach by combining natural and engineering sciences.

Professor Martin Wegener, spokesperson of the 3DMM2O excellence cluster on behalf of Karlsruhe, adds: “InnovationLab can therefore continue to be an important technology hub for our members.” Professor Uli Lemmer, who leads a working group at the Heidelberg Cluster together with his KIT colleague Professor Gerardo Hernandez-Sosa, also emphasizes: “The collaboration between science and industry under one roof makes InnovationLab a unique environment and offers excellent opportunities for transferring research results into applications.”

Professor Matthias Weidemüller, Vice Rector for Innovation and Transfer at the University of Heidelberg, contextualized the continued partnership as follows: “With the extension of the agreement, the course is now set for the further use of  InnovationLab as a key platform for technological developments from the University of Heidelberg. Thanks to the planned expansion of the high-quality laboratories at InnovationLab, the 3DMM2O excellence cluster will benefit from the infrastructure there in the development of scientific innovations into market-ready technologies. At the same time, the InnovationLab network promotes exchange between scientists at the University of Heidelberg and industrial partners.”

Professor Christine Selhuber-Unkel, deputy spokesperson of the 3DMM2O excellence cluster on behalf of Heidelberg, considers the advantages and synergy effects of a combined platform that brings science together with industry in one place to be productive: “The expansion of activities of InnovationLab towards 3D printing opens up new opportunities for driving technology transfer in this field. This is of great importance for the 3DMM2O excellence cluster.”

The new spaces should be gradually ready for move-in starting in the fourth quarter of 2023. Acting as a coordinator, incubator and cluster manager is a renaissance for InnovationLab. “Back to the roots” can be one of the paths of the interdisciplinary competence center.

About InnovationLab GmbH

InnovationLab GmbH is a joint venture of leading global corporations, including HEIDELBERG, BASF, and SAP, and two top German universities, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Heidelberg. Founded 15 years ago in Heidelberg's Bahnstadt district, InnovationLab has proven expertise in printed electronics and serves as a problem solver and accelerator for its partners in the fields of advanced manufacturing, energy transformation, and life sciences. The application-oriented research and transfer platform provides an interdisciplinary working environment for universities, startups, and companies as a high-quality service.

 

Contact

Head of Communications

Joachim Klaehn

Phone: +49 (0) 151 14087043

E-Mail: joachim.klaehn@innovationlab.de