Start-up labs opened in Hamburg

Another part of Science City in Hamburg Bahrenfeld officially opened this Monday: The Start-up Labs offer companies a close connection to science, and almost all of the space has already been leased.

The first start-ups moved in back in July, and now the innovation center for deep-tech start-ups has officially opened. "The fact that we were able to move in here is a real stroke of luck for us. We have competent contact persons to support us at any time," Julian Becker, founder of the start-up X Spectrum, which has developed a special X-ray camera, is pleased to say.

Offices, workshops and a laboratory have been created on the approximately 2,700 square meters in the Bahrenfeld district, and almost all of the premises have already been leased to start-ups. It is a joint project of the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), the University of Hamburg and the City of Hamburg. The connection to DESY's research campus and the cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter gives the deep-tech start-ups access to further expertise. The project is part of Science City Hamburg-Bahrenfeld, which aims to make the Hanseatic city more attractive for start-ups from the physical and biophysical fields.

Science Senator Katharina Fegebank hopes that "in the future, the new start-up labs will create new space for cutting-edge research and new forms of exchange for innovation" to enable "economic growth with innovation as the driver of progress and answers to the most pressing questions of the future." It has high hopes for the start-ups that will also develop "concrete products and services in the field of lasers and photonics in the coming years". The construction of the Start-up Lab took two years and cost 17.5 million euros, of which the city of Hamburg is contributing 14.2 million euros.

"Especially in pandemic times, young founders need energetic support from experienced colleagues from research and industry in order to be successful in the long term in economically difficult times," says Arik Willner from DESY about the advantages of the close cooperation between research institutions, companies and founders.