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 premises have already been rented out.

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 contacts to support us at all times," says Julian Becker, founder of the start-up X Spectrum, which has developed a special X-ray camera.

Offices, workshops and a laboratory have been created on the approximately 2,700 square meters in the Bahrenfeld district, and almost all of the space has already been rented out to start-ups. It is a joint project of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), the University of Hamburg and the City of Hamburg. The connection to the DESY research campus and the collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for the 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 in the fields of physics and biophysics.

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

"Especially in times of a pandemic, young founders need active 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 on the advantages of close cooperation between research institutions, companies and founders.