The Montan-Stiftung-Saar trust presents InnovationsCluster 4.0: using excellent research from Saarland to develop excellent companies in Saarland

The Montan-Stiftung-Saar trust presented the newly founded InnovationsCluster 4.0 in Saarbrücken on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. InnovationsCluster 4.0 is an alliance of the University of Saarland (UdS), htw saar, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing IZFP, the Leibniz Institute for New Materials and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA), as well as trust subsidiaries Montan-Innovation-Lab-Saar GmbH and Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH.

The Montan-Stiftung-Saar trust is supporting the cluster through its companies with up to EUR 10 million per year. This is explicitly intended to advance diversification of the trust, which is aiming to achieve a much broader base in its companies.

Reinhard Störmer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Montan-Stiftung-Saar, describes the goal of this cluster approach as follows: “This innovative combination of science and economics will be used to convert research results and research assignments into new products and new business models. We want to bring the superbly educated young people in Saarland together on a new platform and thus support their creative business ideas. We want to create new companies in Saarland with excellent research from Saarland.”

This InnovationsCluster 4.0 is pursuing a cross-innovation approach: A variety of competencies and specialist disciplines are being brought together to jointly develop new products. The concept is supporting the transition toward a sustainable and stable economic region around the Saar. The industrial trust believes that innovations are the basis for an economically successful future.

“The Montan-Stiftung-Saar InnovationsCluster 4.0 is a custom-tailored, private-sector initiative within the context of our innovation strategy and the common goal of creating value and jobs from innovations. I welcome the initiative, because economic interests and needs are an integral part of a targeted technology transfer,” said Jürgen Barke, Saarland Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digital Affairs and Energy, regarding the initiative of the trust and universities.

For Montan-Stiftung-Saar Managing Director Stefan Rauber, it is therefore also clear that innovative paths must be taken to achieve this: “With this initiative, we're closing the gap between research and implementation. We are combining research with economic profit and giving young people in Saarland prospects for the future. The specific mission for InnovationsCluster 4.0 is to identify ideas, then develop and accelerate them. This is structural change happening live!”

The key contributions from the universities and institutes consist of introducing innovative ideas into the cluster and continuing the development of rudimentary business ideas for the cluster – and doing this in connection with the resources of the trust and with experts from the field. Montan-Innovation-Lab-Saar GmbH will actively assist the development of business models and will support team-building efforts. Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH will invest in emerging start-ups and support them in their further development. This will ensure that all stakeholders are able to participate in the future business model.

Contacts:

Montan-Stiftung-Saar

Stefan Rauber, Managing Director

Phone: +49 6898 102067, e-mail: srauber@montan-stiftung-saar.com

SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar

Martin Reinicke, Head of Communications

Phone: +49 (0)6898 102211, e-mail: martin.reinicke@stahl-holding-saar.de

About the Montan-Stiftung-Saar trust

Montan-Stiftung-Saar is the owner of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KGaA. It is thus the indirect owner of Saarstahl AG and the majority shareholder of AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke.