Germany is preparing for the future – that is the motto of the Hightech Agenda Germany (HTAD). The goal of the innovation offensive decided by the federal government is to achieve greater competitiveness, added value, and more international independence through extensive, bundled investments in research and technologies. For this purpose, strategic key technologies have been identified that are to be specifically promoted.
The Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) is extensively involved in the HTAD, as demonstrated by the university’s newly launched website on the topic. The university is engaged in cutting-edge research in five of a total of six key technologies: artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, technologies for climate-neutral mobility, biotechnology, and microelectronics. Among others, the activities within the Cluster of Excellence BlueMat – Water Driven Materials and the Collaborative Research Centre SMART Reactors contribute to the latter two areas.
In addition to the key technologies, the strategic research fields form another focus of the HTAD. TUHH is also excellently positioned here – for example, in the research field of marine, climate, and sustainability research with the graduate school “Climate Informed Engineering,” or in the field of humanities and social sciences, where the Institute for Ethics in Technology deals with the ethical aspects of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence.
Contribution to International Competitiveness
Prof. Irina Smirnova, Vice President for Research at Hamburg University of Technology: “The Hightech Agenda Germany offers the opportunity to strengthen Germany’s technological sovereignty and to systematically transform research into innovation. TU Hamburg brings expertise in central key technologies and connects excellent research with application-oriented solutions. Together with our partners, we want to build on this and contribute to sustainable value creation and international competitiveness.”
The expertise of TU Hamburg and other leading research institutions in Hamburg is bundled via PIER PLUS, the strategic science platform of the Hamburg metropolitan region. The Hightech Agenda Germany is primarily implemented by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space Travel. For this purpose, politics regularly exchanges information with research institutions and the economy. Federal Minister Dorothee Bär emphasizes the practical benefits of these efforts: “Today’s research becomes tomorrow’s value creation. We want to bring innovations not only convincingly on paper but also successfully to the market. That is why the Hightech Agenda Germany considers the entire chain – from the first innovation impulse to the competitive product.”
The goals of the nationwide initiative are deliberately ambitious. For example, the first personalized mRNA cancer vaccine is to be approved by 2028, and by 2029 new AI chips “designed in Germany” are expected to enter the market.
