• The Aachen City Council commissions the administration with a project outline for a start-up center at the Bushof.
• The combination of affordable living space and a new attraction for science and research in a central location offers a special appeal for the eastern city center.
• KRAFTWERK aims to establish Aachen as an excellent center for start-ups in the field of future technologies both nationally and internationally.

With the project idea of a KRAFTWERK at the Bushof, the city of Aachen is providing new impetus for the promotion of technology-oriented start-ups. The focus is on supporting start-ups in their early stages and the targeted promotion of regional innovation potential, particularly in the areas of deep tech and transformation technologies. The idea was developed by the Department of Housing, Social Affairs and Economy in consultation with numerous stakeholders from the city, city-region and universities.

At its meeting on Wednesday, July 9, the Aachen City Council commissioned the administration by a majority to integrate the idea of the KRAFTWERK Aachen at the bus station into the overall concept to be drawn up alongside the housing construction prioritized in this area.

The KRAFTWERK is intended to work in the same way as its literal predecessors in a figurative sense: where previously, for example, lignite was extracted as a raw material in the Rhenish mining area, converted by power plants and distributed via the energy network, the KRAFTWERK is intended to convert the raw material "knowledge" from the sources of the universities, their students and the innovations there into actual economic power, which is further distributed via the regional economic and scientific network. Like its predecessors in opencast mining, KRAFTWERK can form a basis for new value chains and thus secure prosperity and employment.

Exploiting start-up potential in Aachen

With a large number of successful start-ups and a continuously growing network, Aachen is already firmly established as a start-up hotspot for technology-driven companies. However, there is still enormous potential to be exploited in the area of "start-up efficiency" - i.e. the number of start-ups per 10,000 students. Compared to other locations of technical excellence, Aachen is not yet in one of the leading positions here. KRAFTWERK should help to further increase "start-up efficiency" and establish Aachen as an excellent center for start-ups in the field of future technologies, both nationally and internationally. "The importance of start-ups for the region is enormous. Start-ups contribute to sustainable regional growth, as the companies often remain in the region for the long term, thus binding jobs and economic power to the region. This makes an active contribution to managing regional structural change," emphasizes Thomas Hissel, Aachen's Councillor for Housing, Social Affairs and Economy.

New start at the Bushof: housing, science and research

The project idea of the KRAFTWERK as a start-up center with a central location at the Bushof complements the housing policy project being developed there, which will remain the focus of the plans for this area. The central location, ideal connections to universities and public transport, high footfall and need for urban development make the Bushof an ideal place for a new start. The combination of affordable living space and a new attraction for science and research in a central location offers a special appeal for the eastern city center. "Together with the Haus der Neugier and the Büchel, the KRAFTWERK can become an important building block for the revitalization of the city centre and make the location attractive," says Hissel.

Encounter and exchange for an open start-up culture

The KRAFTWERK will not only offer workspaces, but also create a network of consulting, coaching and modern labs to directly support founders in developing their ideas. The project is not just a structural initiative, but a cultural shift towards an open, innovative start-up culture, a lively place for encounters and exchanges between science, business and society.

The NETZWERK as a project for an entire region

Cooperation with regional partners, such as the IHK, AGIT and the StädteRegion, is key to ensuring long-term success. It is intended to act as a catalyst for the entire region by strengthening cooperation between science, business and local authorities and promoting inter-municipal collaboration. The promotion of start-ups extends far beyond the city limits. By closely interlinking research, start-up support and the regional economy, the region can become a pioneer in the fields of deep tech and transformation technologies, with the KRAFTWERK as a beacon and a visible sign of the upheaval in the Rhineland region - firmly embedded in the region.

KRAFTWERK is still just a project idea. Following the council's decision, a project outline will now be drawn up in order to initiate the further process for project funding. As the KRAFTWERK project meets the key objectives of structural change - creating and maintaining jobs and apprenticeships in the Rhenish mining area, diversifying the economic structure, improving the Rhenish mining area as a business location - there is a good chance of receiving funding as part of the structural change funds. This is the aim of the further development process