Young teacher sitting at mobile computer in TUMO Center Berlin
Dossier

Dossier

Digitalisation and Innovation

Innovations are the lubricant for progress in the economy and society. In our dossier "Digitalisation and Innovation", we introduce people and projects whose ideas will change our lives.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

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Two installers lift a PV module onto the roof of a house

On behalf of the Paris climate goals

In Germany, more and more homeowners are currently undergoing their private energy transition: with a solar system on the roof, battery storage and a heat pump in the basement – and perhaps a wallbox for an electric car.

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Patrick Lipke and his team from Resourcify

Going round in circles

The centre of Hamburg is home to the future of waste management. The digital platform of the start-up Resourcify helps companies generate real value from waste.

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A student is working on a PC

TUMO Center in Berlin

The entrepreneurial couple Sam and Silva Simonian wanted to promote digital education for young people in Armenia. The concept is now also expanding in Germany: thanks to KfW's initiative, there are already TUMO centres in Berlin and Mannheim. Further TUMO centres will soon be opened in Cologne, Essen, Lüdenscheid, Saarbrücken and Frankfurt.

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A person films people in a square with a smartphone

Managing projects remotely

Maintaining the ability to act despite the pandemic, including in fragile contexts – Remote Management, Monitoring and Verification (RMMV) makes it possible to manage projects from a distance. It gives donors a better overview and increases target group participation, but it also carries new risks.

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teammeeting

From niche provider to global player

Berlin-based fintech company Mambu bet early on cloud solutions for financial services providers. Today it is valued at 1.7 billion euros.

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Read the interview with Heliatek-CEO Guido van Tartwijk
Two man attaching solarfilms onto a wall

"On virtually any surface"

Heliatek CEO Guido van Tartwijk on his organic solar films, the solar market of the future and the most important decision in the company's history.

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A man looks out of his rooftop window onto his photovoltaic modules.

Solar energy on demand

Sonnen GmbH has developed a storage system so that solar power can be used even after sunset. Homeowners can use an app to control when and to where the electricity should flow from their photovoltaic systems.

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Wolfram Palitzsch and Dr. Ingo Röver (from left), founders of LuxChemtech, pose with a silicon block and a solar panel

High-tech recycling

The manufacture of photovoltaic modules requires pure silicon. But it is scarce and costly. LuxChemtech has developed technologies to recycle silicon and other semiconductor materials and return them to the manufacturing cycle.

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Felix Birkenmeier, the third generation of the Birkenmeier family to run the company

Flora and fauna for cities

The Baden-based company, Birkenmeier, wants to use a simple trick to provide more nature in cities: The natural landscape is not being created horizontally on the ground or on roof-tops; it is being created vertically – on the walls of buildings.

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Rocket in space, flying above globe.

Reaching for the stars

Munich-based rocket manufacturer Isar Aerospace will soon be transporting satellites into orbit. A first test flight was launched from Andøya Spaceport in Norway at the end of March 2025.

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man with mobile mapping system in a warehouse with boats.

Google Maps for buildings

The Munich-based company NavVis creates digital copies of buildings.

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The three Sympatient founders Christian Angern, Julian Angern and Benedikt Reinke

Facing fear with virtual reality

The company Sympatient has transferred therapy content for people with anxiety disorder to an app and uses virtual reality for practice scenarios. The Hamburg-based healthcare start-up won the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award for this idea.

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drones are equipped with additional technology

Inventory drone on test

The Hesse-based start-up doks. innovation aims to future-proof corporate goods logistics with the help of drones. The coronavirus crisis hit the new company as it was preparing for its market launch.

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Authentic Newtworks robot

Blockchain against counterfeiting

The start-up Authentic.Network has developed a digital seal that makes malaria drugs identifiable, forgery-proof and traceable.

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Kamedi GmbH in Karlsruhe. heat it - a mosquito bite healer via smartphone.

Smart against insect bites

Unfortunately, itchy insect bites are as much a part of summer as flowers, ice cream and sandals. A group of students from Karlsruhe, Germany have developed a stick that connects to a smartphone and uses heat to combat itching and pain.

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Recharging at the nearest street lamp

Electricity is everywhere

Recharging at the nearest street lamp. The Berlin-based company Ubitricity offers an efficient solution for charging electric vehicles.

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Defending against invisible attackers

Industry 4.0 is the future. But digital networking also creates risks. Rhebo GmbH has developed a product that monitors digital systems in industrial environments and identifies, reports and documents anomalies.

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Melbourne port

Brave new world of ports

Operations are almost fully automated at Melbourne's port terminal. Port digitalisation is revolutionising shipping logistics. KfW IPEX-Bank is one of seven international banks that believe this is where the future lies.

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Reactive robotics

New medical technology proves its value

Robot technology for mobilising intensive care patients, digital consultation hours, artificial intelligence for disinfection control - innovative technologies help the medical sector in the fight against the corona pandemic. KfW Stories presents four companies.

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M-BIRR

Safe and cashless payments

With M-BIRR, Ethiopians can now transfer money using their mobile phones without having a traditional bank account or Internet access.

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Die Firma Sonotec aus Halle fertigt Spezialgeräte für Ultraschalltechnik an.

Ultrasounds for everything

SONOTEC is a German firm that manufactures special devices for ultrasound applications. Innovation has been a fixture in its day-to-day operations for almost 30 years. We take a closer look at this cradle of invention.

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Clean water at fair prices

Frank Jacobs and his team at Cologne company mft developed an innovative water treatment plant for a Columbian village in La Guajira.

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Sabine Pfeiffer

The perfect fit

Whether you’ve got a narrow face or a bigger nose, finding a pair of glasses that fits perfectly is now possible thanks to the company You Mawo. Glasses are made-to-measure using 3D scanning and printing technology developed by the company itself.

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Traffic in Rio

Software for the traffic of tomorrow

Wunder Mobility is driving the issue of shared mobility worldwide with a broad range of technologies. The smart software of the Hamburg start-up is the backbone of many providers of car sharing, car rental or shuttle services.

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Custom-made furniture

Not a good fit? That's impossible. With the online program form.bar, everyone can create their own furniture and have it made by a local carpenter. And it works – even despite the price war in the furniture industry. A portrait of the Okinlab start-up.

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Start-up founders from Munich are developing 3D ultrasound sensors

When cars navigate like bats

The start-up founders of MEYSENS from Munich are developing 3D ultrasound sensors to give machines and robots the power of echolocation. This technology will also be important for autonomous driving.

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