The ‘Gateway Factory’ is one of ten startup factories to be funded by the German government. The company initiated by the University of Cologne, RWTH Aachen University and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is set to receive up to ten million euros from the federal government for the next five years to support deep-tech startups. The initiators also include the Cologne universities that have joined forces under the Gateway umbrella brand to promote startups. Alongside the University of Cologne, TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), the German Sport University Cologne, Rheinische Hochschule Köln and the CBS International Business School are also part of this network. The Munich-based company Start2 Group is also involved. The partners have thus cleared the final hurdle in the prestigious competition organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), as Minister Katherina Reiche announced in Berlin.
By way of the competition, the BMWE has been seeking to identify cross-university startup centres that can establish ecosystems with international appeal. The aim is to create a new generation of globally successful and technologically innovative companies. The Startup Factories are organized under private law and managed by entrepreneurs, and they are backed by alliances of universities and established companies within the region.
The ‘Gateway Factory’ focuses on promoting deep-tech startups with cross-industry growth programmes. At the same time, it serves to intensify support in specific areas. These include Future Health & Life Sciences, Sustainable Infrastructure & Mobility, Future Computing & Engineering and Future Regulatory Demands. In these fields of innovation, the Gateway Factory brings startups together with industry partners and investors along with partners from the research realm. In addition, they receive support in connection with the acquisition of personnel, customers and capital. Deep-tech startups in particular benefit from being able to make use of production and laboratory space via the Gateway Factory.
In order to realize the concept, the Gateway Factory has already raised private funding amounting to around ten million euros from companies based in the region, venture capitalists and private individuals.
“We are delighted that our alliance was able to convince the competition jury with its concept. The participating universities have huge potential when it comes to conducting excellent research. The Gateway Factory also represents a means to jointly offer the best support for the transfer of far-reaching technological breakthroughs from research into the realm of application,” says Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, Rector of the University of Cologne.
“We complement each other well: both in Düsseldorf and Cologne we have the advantage of outstanding management and financial expertise and of a wide spectrum of excellent research in the life sciences and the humanities,” says Professor Dr Anja Steinbeck, Rector of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. “We also use the advantages of our economic centres to promote growth.”
“The fact that the Gateway Factory is being recognized as one of ten Startup Factories in Germany is a strong signal confirming Aachen as a deep-tech location. We are already in an excellent position in the early ideation and incubation phase – this funding will now enable us to work with our partners to specifically strengthen the scaling phase. The unique focus on production support makes the Gateway Factory a real catalyst for deep-tech innovation. As the Rector’s Delegate for Translation at RWTH Aachen University, I am very pleased about this milestone for our innovation ecosystem,” says Professor Dr Michael Riesener, Managing Director of RWTH Aachen Innovation GmbH.
Press and Communications Team:
Marijan Kojić
+49 151 14773401
m.kojic@gateway-unikoeln.de
Further information can be found on the press page of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy:
www.bmwe.de