The Emscher-Lippe Region in Germany has been experiencing drastic structural changes ever since the 1960s and 1970s when the coal mines in the area started to close down.

In spite of its 12% unemployment rate, Marl is still an international centre in the field of special chemicals and, with its chemistry-park, it attracts international specialists and researchers. This characteristic is to be enhanced through the project.

The implementation of nanotechnologies and product-marketing in Marl should serve as leverage for the future development of the whole Emscher-Lippe Region.

The Nanotronics Science-to-Business Centre in Marl, Germany serves as the focal point for developing technology and systems to produce high-value and high-growth products for the electronics markets. Strong collaboration with research, academic and industrial partners is a cornerstone of the Centre’s philosophy.

The aim is to reduce significantly the development time from the invention to the marketable product. The centre does not only house equipment, laboratories and pilot plants for Degussa‘s strategic development activities, but also serves as a common working environment for all internal and external partners.

Development at the Nanotronics Business to Science Centre will focus in particular on four nanotronics technologies over a five-year time frame:

A scientific network has been built up with 35 cooperations with leading universities and with industrial partners including Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in order to cover the complete chain within the projects.

It is too soon to discuss successes about this project but a few data can be given. As far as employment figures are known, an increase from 65 researchers to 83 as a result of the external financial support is expected.

Potential effects of the project are:

This practice was presented at the Fourth Best Practice Conference New Horizons in Graz, Austria on 15 November 2006. The conference aimed at promoting exchange of experience and dissemination of best practice between authorities involved in the implementation on EU Structural Funds Programmes in Europe. It was destined to contribute to improving quality of implementation of Structural Funds on the basis of project presentations and visits.

The State Government of Northrein Westphalia
Claudia Schulte

01/01/2000

case

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Research & innovation

Implementation & production