The Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig will receive a further 1,9 million euros from the cluster funding of the Saxon Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Economics Minister Martin Dulig: »I am pleased that we can continue to support the Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig in the next five years. The funding makes a particular contribution to advancing digital innovations and solutions. In Saxony there is a lot of know-how and innovative ideas in the field of digitization that we can and must use. The importance cannot be overestimated, because we live in an era in which many important technologies are being developed at the same time or are already on the market. Big data, artificial intelligence or 3D printing – each individual technology has enormous, epoch-making potential. We want and need to use these technologies wisely – because they will shape our lives in the coming years, influence our work, mobility and our coexistence. So that these ideas can be implemented quickly, networked ecosystems with optimal conditions are needed – such as the digital hubs. People with different backgrounds, from different sectors, come together here and work together on economic and cross-cutting technological issues.«

The main focus of the funding project is the further development of the Smart Infrastructure Hub (SIH) in Leipzig with a special focus on areas of activity that have arisen through the successful nomination as a European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) – in particular networking and advocacy at European level.

A digital ecosystem for the areas of energy, smart city and health is developing under the umbrella of the Smart Infrastructure Hub. The established economy, start-ups and research are to be networked more and more with each other. This intelligent networking and digitization of processes and infrastructure within a city is being researched and expanded. This is intended to increase national and international attention for Leipzig as a location, promote future-oriented sectors and technologies, bundle existing cutting-edge research and digital expertise and strengthen established companies and founders alike.

The Smart Infrastructure Hub (SIH) in Leipzig is part of the de:hub initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The funding for cluster funding comes from the joint task for improving the regional economic structure (GRW) and is financed equally by the federal government and the state. The total cost of the funding project is 4,1 million euros, of which 3,8 million euros are eligible for a 50 percent funding rate. The Smart Infrastructure Hub has been supported from the same program since 2017 with almost 0,9 million euros so far. With the funding, which has now been extended by another five years, the maximum possible funding period has been exhausted.

Source: Press release SMWA from 29.12.2022