STATES of FLUX It’S 30 Years Since German Reunification
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GERMANY SPECIAL EDITION 2020 STATES OF FLUX It’s 30 years since German reunification. In this special edition, we look at the structural change that has taken place across the coun- try. Opportunities for growth are open ing up in both the East and the West. A hiker takes on the “Tiger and Turtle – page 4 Magic Mountain” rollercoaster walkway installation in Duisburg. Built in 2011, the sculpture stands on a former zinc- smelting slag heap. Technology: Healthcare: Energy: How Berlin became an Halberstadt turns its Germany’s largest international hub for 3D fortunes around as a green hydrogen plant in printing medtech hub Schleswig-Holstein page 21 page 32 page 35 FOCUS States of Flux The Berlin Wall fell in 1990, but many German states are still undergoing structural change. Ongoing transformation is generating inter- esting investment opportunities. page 4 Photo: GTAI/Illing & Vossbeck Fotografie & Vossbeck GTAI/Illing Photo: »Investors from Germany and around the world are discovering lucrative business opportunities in structural change.« OPINION FEDERAL STATES IN FOCUS Bavaria: Ceramics industry survives by making components for electronics. .................. page 19 Berlin: Start-ups are transforming the city and the 3D printing industry. ...................... page 21 Dear Reader, Bremen: A disused port is now the largest construction project in Europe. ............. page 22 Germany is world-renowned for its economic Niedersachsen: Walsrode has evolved into a dynamism and manufacturing excellence. This logistics location for e-commerce. ......... page 23 said, the country is not without its own chal- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Healthcare lenges. Many regions are undergoing economic transforms a rural northern region. ....... page 24 structural change and upheaval as a result of Structural Change = Hessen: Darmstadt is now a hotspot for com- diverse factors including digitalization, Germa- Creative Solutions munications technology. ...................... page 26 ny’s own transition to clean energy and global Hamburg: Harburg’s old cargo port is being business trends. page 27 Interview with Marco Wanderwitz, turned into an ’innovation port’. ............ The end of the lignite industry, the transfor- Federal Government Commissioner for Saxony: The border city of Görlitz is attracting mation of the automotive industry to electric the New Federal States tourists and real estate investment. ....... page 28 page 38 drives and the economic pressures large em- North Rhine-Westphalia: The Ruhr region is ployers experience today are driving structural powering Germany’s Energy Transition. ... page 30 change in several regions. Many eastern and Rheinland-Pfalz: A former military base be- western German states have taken ‘ownership’ comes a science and IT hub. .................. page 31 of these disruptions and turned them into op- FEDERAL STATES IN FOCUS Saxony-Anhalt: Halberstadt reinvents itself as portunities to change for the better. a medtech center. ................................ page 32 Moreover, domestic and international in- In Brief: Bremen’s rockets and Tesla’s new plant Saarland: From coal to computers – Saarbrück- vestors are discovering lucrative business op- in Brandenburg ................................. page 14 en’s structural turnaround ................... page 34 portunities in structural change. Germany has Brandenburg: Chemicals and bioplastics have Schleswig-Holstein: A huge green hydrogen many inspiring success stories which we share taken over from coal mining. ................ page 16 plant will transform the region. ............. page 35 in this special edition. All the case studies have Baden-Württemberg: Stuttgart is leading the Thuringia: Ilmenau transitions from traditional one thing in common: The chances of success change from fossil fuels to e-mobility. .... page 18 industry to a high-tech economy. .......... page 36 are greatly increased when investors and other local players collaborate to make progress and Publisher: Germany Trade & Invest Gesellschaft für Distribution: Markets Germany is distributed solely effect change. Außenwirtschaft und Standortmarketing mbH, Fried- by the publisher all over the world. We at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) sup- richstraße 60, 10117 Berlin, T. +49 30 200 099-0, Notes: © Germany Trade & Invest, March 2020 port international investors interested in com- F. +49 30 200 099-111, [email protected], www.gtai.com All information provided by Germany Trade & Invest Excecutive Board: Dr. Jürgen Friedrich, Chairman/CEO; has been gathered with the utmost care. We assume ing to Germany. We provide them with market Dr. Robert Hermann, CEO no liability, however, for the accuracy of the informa- information, support them in making contacts Director Corporate Communications: tion provided. Articles published under specific names do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. and identify sources of public funding. Andreas Bilfinger No reprints may be made without the prior consent If you are interested in Germany, please con- Managing and Content Editor: Silke Poppe of the publisher. Unless specified otherwise, the copy- tact us. We look forward to hearing from you. Consultant Editor: Elisabeth Guth right for pictures is held by Germany Trade & Invest. Editorial Team Kammann Rossi/wortwert: Imogen Order number: 21197 Cover: Martin Kirchner/laif O’Rorke, Christoph Hus, Jürgen Jehle, Anna Friedrich Design and Layout: Arne Büdts, Verena Matl Silke Poppe Print: Kern GmbH, 66450 Bexbach, www.kerndruck.de GTAI Section Director Circulation: 5,000 Photo: Gordon Welters/laif Gordon Photo: Srijna Jha, cofounder and CEO of Morph Green Tech In 2015, a devastating earthquake hit Srijna master’s in Natural Resource Management Quick facts Jha’s home country, Nepal. At the time, the at Humboldt University in Berlin, and is physicist was living in Germany and was un- currently doing a PhD on agricultural inno- Name Srijna Jha able to communicate with her family back vations for rural development at the Leibniz Age 34 home. “When a disaster happens, electricity Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research Nationality Nepalese and communication are cut off first,” says in Müncheberg, Brandenburg. Müncheberg Company name Jha. Two years later, she and her business was the natural choice of location, not least partners Katharina Diehl and Marit Bilandzi- because it is a coal mining region. “Introduc- Morph Green Tech Founded 2017 ja-Kenning developed a tool that could have ing green energy companies in regions which Based in Müncheberg provided electricity during the disaster: the are dependent on fossil fuels makes a lot of Industry Green tech Solar Cube. It is an origami-inspired solar sense because the priorities of the funding Capital invested EUR 75,000 charger which uses PV integrated solar tex- agencies are geared toward your goals,” she tiles and solar cells. “While Solar Cube was explains. The corporation received state built with a vision for rural development funding through the Gründung Innovativ and disaster response, it would appeal to program. The Solar Cube is still in the test outdoor lifestyle consumers too,” says Jha. phase, but Jha plans to launch the product www.morphgreentech.com Jha moved to Germany in 2011 to pursue a on Kickstarter in 2020. The “Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain” installation is a stroll-on sculpture based on a rollercoaster which can be seen from miles away: It stands on Heinrich Hildebrand Hill in the Angerpark in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. The land- mark was conceived and developed by artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth as part of the “European Capital of Culture RUHR” year in 2010. The hill was once a slag heap owned by the zinc smelting com- pany Sudamin MHD GmbH (which closed in 2005) and is named after a local Duisburg historian. MARKETS GERMANY | Focus 5 States of Flux Thirty years after German reunification, many regions in eastern Germany are still undergoing structural change. The economy in the West is also changing, for a variety of reasons. On the upside, these developments provide promising opportunities for foreign companies. tructural change can have many The most prominent and far-reaching exam- faces. It might come rather slowly as ple of structural change in Germany’s recent S a consequence of shifts in a region’s history probably came about as a result of major industry and emerging new technolo- the country’s reunification three decades gies. Or it might be more rapid and unexpect- ago. The Berlin Wall was a monumental ed, for instance in the aftermath of historic symbol of the division of Germany into two events. The process of change is usually ac- countries: the Federal Republic of Germany companied by severe challenges for the re- (FRG) to the west and the German Demo- gion’s economy and population; but it also cratic Republic (GDR) to the east. The bor- offers manifold opportunities to push for- der between the two countries was 1,400km ward innovative solutions. long and “The Wall” ran through the middle Photo: Martin Kirchner/laif Photo: 6 MARKETS GERMANY | Focus »Even 30 years after German reunification, Germany is still a country in upheaval.« Klaus-Heiner Röhl, economist of Berlin and stopped GDR citizens from er (October 3, 1990), Germany was officially ty of attractive industrial sites, highly moti- leaving the country. reunited. vated specialists (e.g. university graduates After reunification, the German Federal who are often interested in finding work lo- Civil rights movement Government pushed ahead