The research campus in Hamburg Bahrenfeld with DESY, the University of Hamburg and numerous other science institutions from Hamburg and Northern Germany developed to one of the world’s leading locations in the field of structural research. The top-class knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology and medicine and the technical possibilities in combination with the new radiation sources open up completely new perspectives for application-oriented research and its transfer. With the new start-up centre, or business incubator, in close proximity to scientific expertise and infrastructure, an attractive environment is created for young enterprises, in which DESY and the University of Hamburg continue expanding their successful science and innovation transfer activities. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg contributes an investment grant of 14.2 million euros.

Drawing of the planned business incubator building. Credit: DFZ Architekten / © DESY

With the purpose to facilitate enterprise foundations, part of the area will be made available to pre-startups for a specified period of time and rent-free, i.e. only with payment of ancillary costs. With only a minimal rent, the remaining area will be allocated to young enterprises and research projects. Thus, founders of a new business and start-ups get a financial support in the initial phase which is often decisive for their later success. Moreover, a major benefit is generated from the networking potentials: A quick and easy exchange with other founders is made possible and the joint product development within teams is made easy.

On premises of more than 5,000 square metres, a new building will be erected with more than 4,000 square metres gross floor space and about 2,600 square metres usable space, with DESY as the building contractor. A positive outline building permit was granted on the present planning documentation. About half of the building area will accommodate offices, the other half laboratories, conference rooms, a cafeteria and the start-up office. Target groups are spin-off prospects, DESY and University of Hamburg spin-offs, and small technology enterprises already operating on the market. University and DESY research institutions and research projects too may use the start-up centre. This is also possible for all other research institutions on the research campus Bahrenfeld. Perspectivally, the new incubator will create the basis for a neighbouring technology park to be developed in the district of Hamburg Lurup.

Olaf Scholz, First Mayor of Hamburg, said: “In cooperation with numerous participants, the innovation centre is another building block of our strategy to expand the Bahrenfeld campus to one of the world’s leading locations in the field of structural research. Currently, there will hardly exist another national and international site offering comparable dynamics of development.”

Science Senator Dr. Dorothee Stapelfeldt: “The unique possibilities of DESY and the university on the Bahrenfeld campus attract outstanding scientists from all over the world to Hamburg. The goal of the start-up centre is to develop more successful business concepts in the future from the top-class scientific competence in Hamburg. For this purpose, we now create a pioneering framework.” Economics Senator Frank Horch added: “The innovation centre plays a decisive role to boost the further development of the planned technology park in Lurup. We want to establish a network of science and innovation parks in Hamburg to facilitate application-oriented research and development for industry and science and to support technology and science transfer on site.”

“DESY offers a full spectrum of unique research light sources and a very dynamic and innovative campus with top-class partners and interdisciplinary institutes,” said Professor Dr. Helmut Dosch, Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors. “Together we do top level research and develop key technologies, among others in the fields of laser and nano technology, medicine and life science. These are ideal prerequisites to become a breeding ground for innovative applications and enterprise foundations,” Dosch continued. “We welcome the enormous support of the senate concerning innovations on the research campus in Bahrenfeld. All campus-based institutions will profit from this,” added DESY Director of Administration Christian Scherf.

The President of the University of Hamburg, Professor Dr. Dieter Lenzen, pointed out: “Cooperation between the University of Hamburg and DESY is a perfect example of a effective scientific partnership between university and non-university institutions. Currently, both work together in the joint innovation institution ‘PIER’ (Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research) and in the following six research fields: particle and high-energy physics, accelerator physics, photon science, nanoscience, structural biology, theoretical physics. Simultaneously, DESY and university scientists participate in more than ten research associations, e.g. in the Collaborative Research Centre of the German Research Foundation (DFG), etc. In total, twelve joint professorship appointments could be realised and raising of external funds in this field amount to many millions of euros.”

Unique global research infrastructure - a point of crystallization for innovative enterprise foundations

The research campus Bahrenfeld with DESY, University of Hamburg and numerous other research institutes from Hamburg and Northern Germany developed to one of the word’s leading locations in the field of structural research. A decisive factor is the unique combination of prominent international scientists of physics, chemistry, biology and medicine with globally unique infrastructures.

On the one hand, the research infrastructure was substantially extended and modernised: With PETRA III, DESY currently operates the most powerful synchrotron radiation source in the world. Moreover, the free-electron laser FLASH provides highest radiation brilliance and excellent results of experiments on the molecular and atomic level. The flagship of these radiation sources will be the European XFEL, currently under construction and commissioning expected in 2017. The more than 3-kilometre long X-ray laser will facilitate unique experimental possibilities in the field of structural research and become an unparalleled facility of this kind worldwide.

On the other hand, the University of Hamburg extended the activities in physics and chemistry research and teaching on the Bahrenfeld campus. This brought about the foundation of the Centre for Optical Quantum Technologies (ZOQ) and lately, the foundation of the Center for Hybrid Nanostructures der Universität Hamburg (CHYN).

What makes the research campus Bahrenfeld especially attractive for prominent international scientists is the close cooperation between the University of Hamburg and DESY, and numerous other research institutions. It was the basis for the success of the University of Hamburg with the Cluster of Excellence „CUI – The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging“ in the German Federal Excellence Initiative. Another example of the special relationship between DESY and the University of Hamburg is the strategic partnership „PIER – Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research“ established in 2011, including four research fields: particle and astroparticle physics, nanoscience, photon science and infection and structural biology. In addition, several cooperating research institutions were recently established and located on the campus:

• the Centre for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), a cooperation of the University of Hamburg, DESY and the Max Planck Society (MPG) to investigate the scientific possibilities of the new radiation sources
• the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB). Apart from DESY, the University of Hamburg and the University Hospital in Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE), other institutes are collaborating in the field of infection research: two Leibniz institutes (Bernhard Nocht Institute and Heinrich Pette Institute), and institutions mainly from Northern Germany (Hannover Medical School, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, the Hamburg institute of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Forschungszentrum Jülich).
• the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, newly founded in 2013 and currently under construction, which in cooperation with CFEL will investigate dynamic phenomena and electronic structures in various forms of matter.