05/22/2023

Dormagen Innovation Belt: Transforming the economy through digital and sustainable business models

Three innovative settlement projects in the focus of the Industry Talk.

Normally, the "Industry Talk" offers start-ups a stage to present innovative solutions to industry and SMEs. However, the most recent edition of the event series was dedicated to three projects planned in Dormagen, which inspired the company representatives from the chemical, digital, construction and industrial sectors to participate. All projects have in common that they are designed to offer companies a space for innovation and modern (data) infrastructures in order to be able to use the megatrends of digitalisation and sustainability for new business models. The inspiring pitches with almost 30 participants in the CHEMPARK neighbourhood office CHEMPUNKT were part of the current concept of the Dormagen City Marketing and Economic Development Corporation (SWD), which wants to develop areas between the industrial estate on the A57 and the sugar factory on the one hand and the city area and CHEMPARK on the other as Dormagen's innovation belt.

After a welcoming speech by district director Dirk Brügge, André Heryschek, SWD Head of Structural Change and Smart City, gave an insight into the Edge Cloud Reallabor project: "Together with research and education partners from the region, we want to create a nucleus for edge computing. In addition to a competence team and an innovation room, a demonstrator consisting of a mini-data centre and a 5G test field will support companies from Dormagen and the Rhineland region in using the edge cloud diffusion for digital transformation and new business models. A funding application is currently being prepared.
The second initiator is currently examining locations for the construction of an ecosystem-integrated edge data centre in Dormagen and emphasised that, in addition to offering storage space and computing power, data centres of the next generation must above all also function as an energy centre. For this reason, the company is particularly proud that it has been able to create an energy-optimised offering in this segment, which is now to be rolled out. Using an entry-level scenario in Dormagen, 250 MW of heat per month could be generated and put to use. SWD is primarily looking at commercial utilisation options in the summer months.

Martin Bellof presented chemstars, an initiative of market-leading companies in the chemical industry to strengthen the start-up scene. The aim of chemstars is to pave the way for ideas, technologies and business models from research to the market. It is still "anything but easy to found a successful company in chemistry, biotechnology or material sciences", says Bellof. chemstars helps start-up teams with know-how and a network. The initiative is currently supported by Bayer, Covestro and CURRENTA, and other companies and the NRW Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy are also involved.

"The three projects presented are an excerpt from current settlement projects and initiatives in the Dormagen innovation belt. The great response shows that the transformation of the economy is in full swing and does not stop at Dormagen. We want to make joint use of the movement in the market and give important impetus to the business location", Heryschek and Martin Voigt, Head of Political and Citizen Dialogue at CURRENTA in Dormagen, summed up in unison. SWD and CURRENTA, as an associated partner of the Industry Hub, are jointly organizing the "Industry Talk" series.