As we write these words, we wonder whether we can really look back fondly on 2023. While acatech itself was busier than ever, the year was marked by escalating wars, simmering global disputes and serious policy conflicts in our own country. More than ever, Germany needs clear priorities on how to strengthen competitiveness, resilience and security, climate protection and sustainability. The key lies in actively shaping innovation – and this is where acatech comes in.

In 2023, difficult questions that Germany had been putting off for years could no longer be ignored. This was also true for research institutions, as illustrated by the debate about relaxing “civilian clauses” so that research is no longer confined to civilian purposes. The importance of being able to change, especially in uncertain times, was summed up by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at our Annual Meeting: “Clinging to the past, ignoring change, refusing to adapt is not an option – especially in an open society like ours. However, it is up to us in government, science and industry to steer the course of change!”.

In 2023, we provided public advice on pressing concerns and systemic questions in the field of energy and resources. With fear of blackouts still widespread in Germany during the winter months, our Energy Systems of the Future (ESYS) project formulated an objective, science-based response. A detailed position paper discussed current knowledge regarding the key question of how Germany can achieve net zero. Several of our initiatives looked at how we can move towards a hydrogen economy, examining every aspect of this complex transformation, from production and supply networks to the end consumer. We also developed proposals for a more resilient resource supply.

Another of our priorities is mobility and logistics, where we advocated a more holistic approach that integrates mobility and space under the motto “Ankommen statt unterwegs sein”. This German phrase encapsulates the principle of people having to travel as little as possible to get to where they need to be. People’s needs are also the focus of the representative Mobility Monitor survey. The results clearly indicated that Germans want more sustainable mobility, but also need better connected urban and rural mobility services. The survey’s findings provide science, industry and policymakers with valuable input for the next steps in the transformation of the mobility system.

We are currently undergoing an economic transformation prompted by the need to meet economic, environmental and social sustainability objectives and driven by technological innovations. In a circular economy, circular value chains are key. To help enable them, we shared knowledge and practical guidelines with businesses and put forward proposals for a digital battery passport. As well as facilitating circularity in the battery sector, the battery passport can provide a blueprint for other digital product passports. Economic transformation also brings about and necessitates change in the world of work. Our HR Working Group provides a forum for discussing these changes.

The digital transformation is a priority theme for us, since it affects every industry and all aspects of our lives. The AI platform “Plattform Lernende Systeme” examined the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and its governance through mechanisms such as the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. First and foremost, however, the platform supports active public engagement and participation in shaping the future of AI. Our Research Council Industrie 4.0 and our Smart Services Maturity Index – which was updated in 2023 – both help to drive digital connectivity in industry. In the year gone by, we investigated the sustainability dimensions of the digital transformation and highlighted the potential of RISC-V open-source chip technology. It has become clear that the digital transformation calls for new approaches in the technological sciences. To address this, acatech and its partners developed the Model of „Advanced Systems Engineering“.

Data and novel techniques are opening up a world of new opportunities in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Yet progress is slow. As the interdisciplinary working group on data in medicine succinctly put it, the benefits of using digital health data in medicine are now so clear that failure to use this data would be positively irresponsible. However, a complex healthcare system and reservations among some medical professionals and members of the public are conspiring to hold things back. We trialled and evaluated a gamified web app that provides impartial information to help people make their mind up about electronic patient records.

One thing that all areas of our work have in common is the desire to strengthen innovation in Germany. To do this, we need the right innovation framework. Convened by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and organised by acatech, the Future Council focuses on new developments, discoveries and trends. Meanwhile, the studies published in our “Germany’s Innovation System” series explore the strengths and weaknesses of our innovation system. Last year, we investigated ways of addressing the acute skills shortage. The Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects found that significant improvements will need to be made in mathematics, science and technology education if Germany is to tackle this shortage. acatech has also shown ways in which the active role of citizens in shaping technological change can be strengthened.

Our transfer projects go beyond the provision of science-based advice by helping to put this advice into practice. They do this by building synergy networks where businesses, institutions and researchers develop joint solutions. One highly successful example is the Mobility Data Space which has now been spun off from acatech. Several other data spaces are in the pipeline. acatech coordinates the German hub of the Gaia-X initiative, which connects data spaces like this to form an ecosystem. In May last year, the launch of Mission KI generated a lot of excitement about the future of Germany’s AI sector. Mission KI is a national flagship initiative charged with developing artificial intelligence testing methods and establishing AI centres in Berlin and Kaiserslautern.

Attentive readers will have noticed that we have restructured our priority themes. Our science-based advice to policymakers and the public is now focused in the six programmes outlined above. In addition, we engage in transfer projects designed to put this advice into practice. We also promote and facilitate public dialogue across all of our priority themes. Our 2023 TechnikRadar survey explored the public’s views and wishes with particular regard to sustainable building and living. Meanwhile, our “acatech am Dienstag” (acatech on Tuesday) series is open to all interested members of the public. Well over 5,000 people engaged in discussions with us at 33 public events last year. 

Germany’s President described our role as steering the course of change. We personally and acatech as a whole will do everything in our power to fulfil this role, drawing on the extensive expertise of our acatech Members and Senate and the other experts who contribute to our work. And if we succeed in this endeavour, then even though 2023 was a difficult year, we will at least be able to look back on it as a year when we set the course for the future. 

The acatech Management Board

Delivering the energy transition and a resilient and sustainable resource supply poses huge political, social, economic and technological challenges for Germany. But the opportunities are equally great – Germany has the chance to achieve net zero by 2045 while strengthening the security, resilience and sustainability of its energy system. Rather than considering individual sectors such as electricity, mobility, buildings and industry in isolation, it is becoming increasingly clear that an integrated approach is required. Given the right policy and economic conditions, resource conservation measures can go a long way towards ensuring a secure supply of raw materials. acatech supports systemic approaches and innovations in all these areas, bringing together experts from science, government, industry and civil society. 

How can Germany transform its energy system?  

Some 200 energy sector experts contribute their scientific and industry expertise to the Academies’ Project Energy Systems of the Future (ESYS). ESYS is a joint initiative of the German academies of science acatech (lead institution), Leopoldina and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Its aim is to promote a sustainable, secure and affordable energy supply. ESYS brings this expertise together in interdisciplinary working groups, distilling energy research findings and policy options so that they are accessible for the policy and public debate. There was a particular focus on three themes in 2023. How can Germany achieve net zero? How likely are blackouts? And should fracking in Germany be re-evaluated in the light of recent geopolitical developments? 

How can Germany achieve net zero?

Germany can achieve net zero by 2045, but doing so will require a huge transformation and expansion of the relevant technologies and infrastructure. 100 percent of Germany’s electricity will need to be generated from renewable sources, and we will also need more heat pumps, more electric vehicles and a rapid expansion of the necessary infrastructure such as the electricity grid and hydrogen network.  

While the production of energy from renewable sources is key, more efficient energy use is equally important. Improving energy efficiency and reducing demand for energy services are thus vital to achieving the goal of net zero. But even if we transition to 100 percent renewable energy and increase efficiency across all sectors, some industries such as concrete production will continue to emit CO₂ in the short to medium term. Carbon management will therefore also have an important part to play in getting to net zero. Carbon management involves the capture, storage and utilisation of CO₂, for instance in conjunction with hydrogen. ESYS experts summarised our current knowledge about all these aspects and proposed potential transformation pathways in the position paper Wie wird Deutschland klimaneutral? Handlungsoptionen für Technologieumbau, Verbrauchsreduktion und Kohlenstoffmanagement (German only – How Can Germany Achieve Net Zero? Policy Options for the Technology Transition, Reducing Consumption and Carbon Management).

 Should Germany be worried about blackouts?

According to the experts, Germany currently has one of the most secure electricity supplies in the world. However, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the associated sanctions resulted in a gas shortage and pushed up energy prices. This has led people to ask whether Germany should be worried about blackouts. The debate has more often than not been characterised by unrealistic assessments of the current situation. The ESYS project team wasted no time in responding with the publication of the discussion paper Are Blackouts in Germany Likely?.    

They found that major power outages and blackouts are unlikely in Germany. There is currently no need to fear blackouts due to an energy shortage. The energy transition is creating a decentralised energy system characterised by many small energy producers instead of a few large power plants. This actually strengthens the security and resilience of the energy supply. However, the discussion paper also highlights new potential threats and discusses how they can be mitigated.  

Strong cybersecurity standards and more overall resilience are becoming increasingly important, for example. The latter should be addressed through a national resilience strategy. 

Fracking: an option for Germany?

Germany banned fracking in unconventional reservoirs in 2016. But Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the temporary gas shortage that followed reignited the debate about fracking in Germany. In response, ESYS published the discussion paper Fracking: an option for Germany? in June 2023. 

The ESYS experts conclude that, in the medium to long term, limited fracking in Germany could contribute to security of supply and reduce reliance on imports. They believe that the environmental impacts of fracking are manageable if the best available technology is used and clear environmental standards are established.  

However, they argue that the long-term use of shale gas is incompatible with the goal of achieving net zero, and that it should therefore only be a stopgap measure. Moreover, there may be less demand for German shale gas now that the global markets have settled down again. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that stepping up natural gas production could further delay the necessary climate action by creating an incentive to keep using gas.    

The strong public opposition, limited timescale and cost and price uncertainty make it extremely hard to say how much fracking in Germany can help to strengthen security of supply.

Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate and Resources and Vice-Chair of the ESYS Board of Directors 

The reasons for hydrogen’s growing importance

There is a broad consensus among researchers, policymakers and industry that hydrogen will play a key role in a low-carbon economy. Hydrogen produced by electrolysis using renewable electricity is both an easily transportable long-term energy storage medium and a valuable chemical feedstock. However, there are still many unanswered questions. Between autumn 2021 and autumn 2022, acatech and DECHEMA ran a stakeholder dialogue as part of their H2-Kompass initiative. The aim was to gather the views, knowledge and know-how of different groups with regard to the hydrogen ramp-up in Germany.    

The objectives are clear now that the hydrogen strategy is in place, but also against the backdrop of the Paris Climate Agreement and with an eye towards our industrial and energy sovereignty. Our aim in publishing the H2-Kompass is to provide guidance on the alternative ways of achieving these objectives.

acatech President Jan Wörner 

The experts argued that hydrogen can help to reduce critical dependencies. However, its use should go hand in hand with other developments including faster expansion of renewables, greater integration of the European electricity system, building electrolysis capacity and a highly developed import and transport infrastructure. There was also a consensus around the need for a stable regulatory framework that provides a reliable basis for planning and investment.  

These conclusions, together with other findings from the stakeholder dialogue and numerous reports and studies provided the input for the H2-Kompass presented by acatech and DECHEMA in September 2023.  

Is importing hydrogen from Australia far-fetched?

The recognition that imported green hydrogen will play an important role in years to come gave rise to HySupply, a joint project of acatech and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Since 2020, experts have been systematically studying whether it is feasible and appropriate to build a hydrogen bridge between Australia and Germany. The partners deliberately chose a promising but distant exporting country that could serve to test the feasibility of this approach, reflecting the fact that the progressive transition from oil and gas to hydrogen and renewables provides a clear opportunity to reimagine and broaden international energy partnerships.   

The final study on options for hydrogen distribution (German only) was presented at the dbb forum in Berlin in January 2024. The study provides a detailed analysis of the European locations that could receive hydrogen imports and exactly how this valuable commodity could be distributed from these locations to the end consumer. The presentation of the study’s findings also included an overview of the initiative’s many milestones and research outputs. The conclusion is that an Australian-German hydrogen bridge is not only possible, but eminently feasible.

Speaking about the project’s findings, acatech President Jan Wörner said that  

An Australian-German hydrogen bridge promises a stable, mutually beneficial trade relationship between two democratic countries. The work of our joint HySupply project confirms its feasibility and identifies the necessary conditions.

Project leader, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and acatech Member Robert Schlögl added that:

The completion of the core hydrogen network must be vigorously pursued. At the same time, we must also implement other projects such as expanding the rail network and building a CO₂ infrastructure. Close cooperation between government, science and industry is key to a successful ramp-up of the hydrogen market.

What is needed to improve mineral resource recycling?

German industry relies on a secure and sustainable supply of raw materials. In the future, recycling will play an increasingly important role alongside domestic extraction and imports. So which measures are needed to strengthen recycling? The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) tasked the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) with establishing the Platform for Dialogue on Secondary Raw Materials (German only) in order to investigate this question with experts in the field. Jointly coordinated with acatech, the platform focused on metals and industrial minerals such as aluminium and gypsum.  

Published in October 2023, the final report of the Platform for Dialogue on Secondary Raw Materials presents concrete options for eight specific material flows. In total, acatech and DERA developed 94 policy options.    

The study partners also stress that recycling can and must be strengthened through an appropriate instrument mix that includes aspects relating to regulation, incentives, technology, digitalisation, infrastructure and logistics.

Peter Buchholz, Head of the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and acatech President Thomas Weber present the final report to Parliamentary State SEcretary Bettina Hoffmann (BMUV) and Michael Kellner (BMWK).
(© acatech)

Reducing nitrogen use in agriculture  

Plants cannot grow without nitrogen – but the vast nitrogen emissions from agriculture are damaging ecosystems and exacerbating climate change. Germany has repeatedly exceeded the EU concentration limits for nitrates in groundwater. The POSITION PAPER Sustainable Nitrogen Use in Agriculture (January 2023) proposes five packages of measures for reducing nitrogen emissions across the entire agricultural value chain.  

 

* Content only available in German

Digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), climate action, resource conservation, demographic change and geopolitical shifts are all driving a major economic transformation. Linear value chains are being connected to form complex yet resilient value networks. And the linear economic model (extract, produce, consume, dispose) is being replaced by a circular economy model characterised by material and energy cycles instead of utilisation chains. While this is good for the environment and reduces reliance on raw material imports, it necessitates changes across every aspect of value creation. Moreover, this transformation of value creation will also be accompanied by fundamental changes in the workplace. acatech investigates future trends and provides a forum for debating the economic transformation.  

How can we ensure a more resilient raw material supply? 

The reliable availability of critical raw materials is vital to Germany’s efforts to reach net zero, to its digital transformation and to German industry. How can Germany’s primary raw material supply become more resilient and sustainable? How can secondary raw materials and recyclable material systems minimise critical dependencies? And how can we make better use of the potential for recycling? Experts from science, industry and civil society discussed these questions in early November 2023 at the acatech conference Werkstoffe – Wertstoffe – Rohstoffe (materials – reusable materials – raw materials) in Munich’s Amerikahaus.

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We can overcome critical dependencies by creating alternatives and – in addition to primary raw materials – making greater use of secondary raw materials as a future material source, while also implementing reduction strategies. We must replace linear value chains with flexible value networks offering multiple alternative connections and routes.

acatech President Jan Wörner 

“Make it circular!” – playing your cards right    

With support from Johannes Kepler University Linz, acatech and WWF Deutschland have developed a strategy game that provides a simple and effective introduction to the circular economy. Make it circular! comprises a card deck and detailed supplementary materials aimed at medium-sized enterprises. Companies can use the game to develop strategies and align their own business models with the circular economy. The free strategy game includes 22 examples of typical circular business models and a workshop facilitation guide. A German-language version was brought out in 2023. 

The digital battery passport – a blueprint for other industries?  

Electric mobility is a key enabler of climate-friendly mobility. But the transition to electric vehicles also means increased demand for lithium-ion batteries. As well as being expensive, the production of these batteries consumes a lot of energy and valuable resources. Batteries should remain in use for as long as possible, and as many as possible of the materials they contain should be reused at end-of-life. Implementation of this circular model relies on the availability of detailed information about a battery’s entire life cycle. acatech is therefore working with several other partner organisations to develop a digital battery passport. 

In April 2023, a consortium of eleven leading international industry, technology, science and civil society organisations published the publicly available Battery Passport Content Guidance. The guidance explains how to implement the battery passport mandated by the new EU Battery Regulation in a practical, affordable and sustainable manner. It is aimed at organisations responsible for implementing the battery passport and other actors in the value chain.

The project was co-funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The concept is transferable to products and components in other sectors, providing a blueprint for digital product passports that contain key information for enabling circular value chains.  

How can AI optimise reuse and recycling?

The transition from a linear to a circular economy calls for the efficient collection and identification of used products. Since every product has a unique history, accurately identifying and evaluating the condition of used parts involves a lot of manual labour and is prone to high error rates.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help to significantly optimise and expedite these processes. In the project EIBA: Sensory acquisition, automated identification and evaluation of old parts on the basis of product data as well as information about previous deliveries (German only), researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK developed a machine designed to reduce product identification error rates through the use of AI.

But it is not just the technical feasibility of AI-based systems that determines whether they will be accepted and used. acatech investigated the other factors that come into play and looked at how change management can be successfully deployed in companies. The study findings were presented by project staff at the wrap-up workshop held at the Fraunhofer IPK in Berlin in April 2023.

HR Working Group: Achieving a successful digital transformation in the workplace

The #FutureWorkDebatte debate series was launched in 2022 by the HR Working Group, which is coordinated by acatech. The series continued with a further eight events in 2023. The topics addressed included the critical influence of new technologies like generative AI, the technology quotient (TQ) and the role of co-determination in tomorrow’s workplace. The key findings of the debate series were fed into the HR Working Group Annual Report (German only), published in December 2023. The report contains twelve perspectives for shaping the digital transformation in the workplace.    

In October 2023, the HR Working Group held its first annual conference in Berlin. The title of the event was “Digital Transformation: Human Resources and Organisation as Success Factors”. HR Working Group host and acatech Executive Board member Frank Riemensperger and his fellow panellists discussed the interaction between technology, organisation and people in the context of the digital transformation in the workplace. The consensus was that organisational change must precede technological change. Companies must review their current management practices as well as their corporate mission, continuing professional development models and employee participation arrangements. The HR Working Group established a LinkedIn presence in 2023 to inform interested parties about the dates of upcoming debates. It also shares details about the views of the Chief Human Resources Officers of leading service providers and technology companies and distinguished ergonomists participating in the debates.  

* Content only available in German

The digital transformation and the step changes in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) are bringing about rapid changes in our everyday lives and the world of work. How can Germany take advantage of the opportunities and emerge stronger from the transformation? How can we ensure safe and transparent artificial intelligence and a level playing field for competition? The profound and wide-ranging changes call for the development of interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral strategies. acatech is contributing through numerous projects, platforms and discussion forums. In this annual report, we highlight our activities in 2023.

Where will the artificial intelligence journey take us?

Established by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Plattform Lernende Systeme (PLS) brings together leading learning systems and artificial intelligence experts from science, industry, government and civil society organisations. Working groups on specific themes discuss the opportunities, challenges and necessary conditions for the development and responsible use of learning systems. The outputs are used to formulate scenarios, recommendations, policy options and roadmaps.

How do robots learn? Participation in the 2023 Digital Summit

“Digital transformation at a turning point” was the title of November’s Digital Summit in Jena, where Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several ministers and prominent political figures met with representatives of the research community, industry and the start-up scene. The Plattform Lernende Systeme’s involvement in the event included contributions to debates and content provision. In an interview, Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger stressed that a key goal is to strengthen not only AI research, but also its application. The Minister co-chairs the Plattform Lernende Systeme Steering Committee alongside acatech President Jan Wörner.

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Robot co-workers

From nurses and emergency service personnel to retirement home employees and factory workers, in the future working with learning robots (German only) will be the norm for people in all manner of different professions. In Jena, experts from the Plattform Lernende Systeme discussed the latest advances in robotics research with guests of the Digital Summit. A variety of themed displays gave participants the opportunity to fill in gaps in their knowledge, fact-check what people are saying about AI and talk to the experts. Further information is available here (German only).

AI clinic

The 2023 Digital Summit introduced a new event format for members of the public. The “Market of Digital Opportunities” at the University of Jena campus offered local people the chance to learn about digital technology. At the Plattform Lernende Systeme’s “AI clinic”, over forty guests spoke to PLS experts about the opportunities and threats of ChatGPT and other AI tools in healthcare and the workplace.

Annual conference: using AI responsibly

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The current technological advances in large language models and robotics raise a number of questions. What do we want to use AI for? How can AI be used responsibly? And how can Germany and the rest of Europe catch up with their global competitors? Experts from the Plattform Lernende Systeme discussed these questions with over 200 participants at the PLS conference “Pioneering: Fit for the Future with Artificial Intelligence” in Berlin in June 2023.

Why the hype around ChatGPT?

In 2023, the ChatGPT language model put artificial intelligence (AI) firmly in the public spotlight – and it continues to inspire huge numbers of people to give AI a try. This textbot is part of a new generation of AI systems that can write text and generate images, videos and code. With all these tools, the human user enters a prompt in the dialogue box. The prompt describes a task and the desired outcome, which the AI then generates. Can this be called intelligence, or even creativity? Are the results really as good and reliable as they seem? Where can systems like this help us, and where could they perhaps also be harmful? The Plattform Lernende Systeme is engaging in the debate on generative AI, seeking to promote understanding and bring together experts from different disciplines through various activities, some of which are listed below:

• The regularly updated web page Generative AI: ChatGPT & Co (German only) provides an overview of how generative AI works and its areas of application.
• On the Perspectives on AI page, PLS experts from different disciplines comment on the latest developments in the field of AI.
• Does ChatGPT mean we no longer need to think (for ourselves)? In March 2023, experts from the PLS discussed this question with the participants in an “acatech am Dienstag” (acatech on Tuesday) event (German only).
• How does generative AI work and learn? What are the limits and challenges? A film (German only) brought out in July 2023 provides simple and clear explanations.
• The two white papers Large Language Models and Developing and Applying Large Language Models address AI’s scientific and economic dimensions.
• In a white paper on AI in journalism  (German only) published in January 2023, experts describe how AI tools can be used responsibly by journalists.
  
  

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How should artificial intelligence be regulated at EU level?

Although AI applications hold great promise for society and industry, they also pose major challenges. Consequently, while both Germany and the European Union promote AI, they also regulate it in order to prevent any undesirable developments. How should AI be regulated to ensure that its development is in everyone’s interest? The Plattform Lernende Systeme regularly brings together experts to try and answer this question. In 2023, it focused on proposals relating to the EU AI Act and data protection regulations.

At European level, the EU has drafted the AI Act, its first ever binding regulation on artificial intelligence. In Germany, the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) has been working on a groundbreaking AI standardisation roadmap. In addition, there are already several existing guidelines and checklists that can contribute to successful regulation of AI. For an overview, see the page on artificial intelligence regulations Regeln für Künstliche Intelligenz (German only).

Published in October 2023, the white paper Unlock the wealth of data while protecting privacy with AI discusses technical approaches to ensuring privacy and data protection with AI systems. Among other things, the authors call for legal recognition of the relevant technical approaches in order to strengthen legal certainty for companies using AI.

How can AI support healthcare?

AI can reduce nursing and medical professionals’ workload by helping to analyse large clinical datasets and images. But how can the widespread use of AI in the healthcare sector be enabled? Experts from the Plattform Lernende Systeme investigated this question by carrying out a qualitative survey of healthcare professionals. The results were published in AI for Healthcare Professionals in April 2024.

The survey found that medical and nursing professionals are fundamentally open to the use of AI. However, in order to make the most of the technology, they stress the need for technical and organisational changes in their daily inpatient and outpatient work.

In April 2023, experts from the Plattform Lernende Systeme discussed how to make this happen at the DMEA health trade fair (German only) in Berlin.

What are the research needs of Industrie 4.0?

Industrie 4.0 has become increasingly important in recent years, especially against the backdrop of national and global influences on the economic system. There is a need for guidance concerning the implementation of innovative Industrie 4.0 solutions and in particular with regard to research and development requirements for overcoming present and future challenges. Industrie 4.0 research is increasingly focusing on topics such as sustainability, resilience, interoperability, technological and strategic sovereignty, and above all the central role of humans.

The Research Council Industrie 4.0 identifies developments and trends in the field of Industrie 4.0 and presents them accessibly for members of the public with an informed interest in this area. It also proposes future research topics and – as a strategic, independent group of experts – fosters interdisciplinary dialogue about Industrie 4.0. The Research Council’s work is coordinated by acatech through the ReCoRD project, overseen by project administrators Projektträger Karlsruhe (PTKA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The Research Council regularly contributes to important debates in the field of Industrie 4.0 through publications and events aimed at specific target groups.

The acatech project office employs various publication formats to present and ensure effective public dissemination of the (research and development) topics identified by the Research Council and the results of its work. The project office is constantly striving to ensure that content is tailored to the relevant target groups and exploring new publication options, with a growing focus on digital formats. For example, it has organised webinars on topics such as the establishment, use and monetisation of an industry data pool, which can be accessed by the wider public through the Research Council Industrie 4.0 website. In addition, simple, virtual explanations of key content are provided in the form of animations and videos.

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In 2023, work began on two expert reports on “AI and industrial work” and “engineering of Industrie 4.0 systems with adaptive autonomy”. Both are being jointly coordinated by the Research Council and the acatech project office. A short publication on new forms of production work was also prepared, focusing on how new technologies and digitalisation enable new work in manufacturing industry. All of these publications are due to come out in 2024.

The Research Council Industrie 4.0 published an updated version of key Industrie 4.0 themes in 2022. Following on from this, in 2023 the Research Council commenced a strategic review of the future outlook for Industrie 4.0. The aim is to identify strategic research topics and development requirements for the next five to ten years that reflect current challenges and emerging potential at both national and international level and to structure them in the context of different perspectives.

The Research Council’s members regularly comment on current trends and recent publications in video statements and interviews. In 2023, they shared their views on topics such as the current and potential applications and impacts of the industrial metaverse, the environmental and economic challenges of future industrial value creation, and the changes to work and industrial relations in the globally connected Industrie 4.0 workplace.

How can digitalisation create a more sustainable economy?

The acatech STUDY Digitainability proposes ideas and concepts for a joined-up, strategic approach to digitalisation and sustainability. A working group led by acatech Vice-President and Member Christoph M. Schmidt assessed various economic sectors and identified the available digital solutions that have a positive impact on environmental sustainability while also adding economic value.

The STUDY investigates eight sectors of the German economy and describes digital solutions with a positive impact on environmental sustainability. It concludes that digital solutions do not only increase environmental sustainability by delivering efficiency gains. They can also enable significant progress towards greater sustainability by promoting more circular user behaviours and business practices.

The STUDY was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The results were presented by acatech staff at two networking meetings: the Federal Network Agency’s 2023 Network Day Datenkompetenz als Schlüsselqualifikation für KMU (German only – Data Skills as a Core Competency for SMEs) in April 2023 and an event on digitalisation and sustainability held by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria in November 2023.

Open standards for better chips?

The microchip market is characterised by a relatively small number of established players. It is dominated by a handful of suppliers and two basic instruction sets: ARM and x86. The fact that a licence must be obtained for these instruction sets is a barrier for all chip developers, especially SMEs and start-ups. Moreover, it means that trade or technology embargoes can restrict entire industries’ ability to develop by revoking licences and preventing imports of certain products.

In order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in this area, the European Union (EU) passed the European Chips Act in September 2023 with the aim of driving the establishment of chip fabrication facilities in Europe. Training of skilled professionals and the development of standards are key to a successful European chip production capability. There is also widespread agreement among the experts about the importance of an open standard instruction set architecture that facilitates the development of specialised applications and supports education and research in this field.

It is against this backdrop that acatech published the IMPULSE RISC-V – An Open Standard for Chip Development, which describes how RISC-V can act as a catalyst for increasing competition throughout the semiconductor ecosystem. For developers, the advantage of RISC-V is that users do not need a licence in order to extend or modify the instruction set. Moreover, the fact that the RISC-V standard is freely available enables straightforward collaboration on new chip designs between research institutions, start-ups, SMEs and large-scale enterprises in open innovation ecosystems. RISC-V supports greater geopolitical independence and facilitates closer cooperation between science and industry.

How can hidden champions benefit from smart services?

acatech’s Maturity Index Smart Services helps companies develop smart services.
(© acatech)

The term “smart services” refers to business models comprising a product, service and customer value proposition. Smart services provide manufacturing companies in particular with an excellent opportunity to set themselves apart from their competitors and access new markets.

But much of this potential remains untapped. Only larger companies have the capacity to independently combine the product, service and value proposition elements to create sustainable and competitive smart services, devise successful business models and adapt their organisation to the smart service business. However, it is the hidden champions – small and medium-sized enterprises – that are the lifeblood of German industry.

Published in May 2023, the acatech STUDY acatech Maturity Index Smart Services aims to provide support for these small and medium-sized businesses. It describes a maturity model with six “structural areas” that offers guidance to companies wishing to develop smart services.

In addition, the acatech Maturity Hub Smart Services website was launched at the end of March 2023. This one-stop support shop helps companies approach their smart service transformation in an evidence-based, practical, comprehensive and intuitive manner.

Towards outstanding connected systems engineering

Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, environmental protection and resource conservation, the skills shortage and changing consumption patterns are just some of the reasons why it is necessary to keep reimagining and developing technological systems and services. This can sometimes be a very complex process that calls for collaboration between a wide range of different disciplines. Moreover, in spite of its complexity and the number of different people involved, this elaborate development process must be transparently structured and communicated across all the relevant disciplines in order to prevent errors from creeping in and ensure that every development stage can be fully accounted for.

Advanced Systems Engineering (ASE) is a comprehensive new methodology for facilitating these processes. It includes methods for enabling communication and cooperation between all the participating experts and corporate partners. By helping to manage complexity in engineering, it allows new products and services that are under development to be tested, used and continuously refined as quickly as possible.

How can companies make their value creation future-fit? Was does this mean for their organisation and processes? Are there ways of managing the associated system complexity? Which technologies can enable even more effective system design? More than 150 participants from government, science and industry discussed practical answers to these questions and how ASE can contribute to a climate-friendly, fair and people-centred economy at the system:ability conference in Paderborn in May 2023.

In May 2023, acatech published the IMPULSE Rethinking and Reframing Engineering. Challenges, Application Scenarios and the New Advanced Systems Engineering Model. The paper presents a model for this wider understanding of engineering professions and training, discussing both application scenarios and challenges. It also proposes ways for companies to strengthen their strategic competence, policy measures and actions that academia can take to implement ASE in Germany.  

* Content only available in German

The emergence of tools like ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence (AI) more tangible for policymakers and the public and has also foregrounded questions about the opportunities, limitations and threats of AI tools. It has made it even clearer that Germany and the EU need good strategies and a shorter path from idea to innovation to enable the sovereign use of data and AI. acatech is supporting this transfer through a range of projects and initiatives. It is also helping to establish institutions that enable collaboration on equal terms between providers and users.  

MISSION KI generates excitement about the future of Germany’s AI sector

The Federal Government has committed to accelerating the development of “AI made in Germany”. To this end, in 2023 it launched MISSION KI, a national initiative charged with developing artificial intelligence (AI) testing methods and establishing two AI centres in Berlin and Kaiserslautern. acatech is helping to get the initiative up and running. 

MISSION KI will develop and trial AI quality and testing standards that will form the basis of a voluntary AI quality seal. The initiative brings together the expertise of prestigious standardisation and testing organisations such as AI Quality & Testing Hub, CertifAI, Fraunhofer IAIS, PwC Deutschland, TÜV AI Lab and the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE). 

The AI quality seal aims to support the secure and transparent use of AI applications among both private and professional users. This will strengthen the competitiveness of German businesses by making these applications a more attractive commercial proposition. 

‘AI made in Germany’ can become a global competitive advantage if we make it easier for our domestic AI companies to bring to market high-quality, secure and high-performing AI applications. 

Volker Wissing,
Federal Minister for Digital and Transport 

The Mobility Data Space: a data marketplace with equal partners comes of age 

Funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and conceived by acatech, the Mobility Data Space (MDS) is an online marketplace for mobility-related data that aims to enable seamless, sustainable and accessible transport in both urban and rural areas. 

In the second year after its launch, the focus was on three main goals: fine-tuning the technical platform, lowering the entry barriers for participants and recruiting additional members to the Mobility Data Space from across the whole of industry.  

The efforts paid off: 

• An overview page on the website provides a detailed insight into what the data space has to offer.   
• The Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS) enables easier technical access to the data space. 

The Mobility Data Space isn’t just about exchanging data. It is also about ideas, know-how transfer and dialogue between equal partners. The organisation’s growth in 2023 was supported by intensive networking and the cultivation of close links with other national and international data spaces. 

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Coming soon: a European Mobility Data Space 

As well as offering a blueprint for other data spaces, the Mobility Data Space also provides a starting point for European cooperation. How can mobility data be shared and securely used throughout Europe in order to facilitate better, more sustainable mobility? What initiatives already exist in Europe and how can they be integrated?  

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In 2023, acatech brought together mobility experts from the private and public sectors to find answers to these questions. Funded through the EU’s “Digital Europe” programme, the initiative’s name is self-explanatory: Preparatory Action for the European Data Space for Mobility (PrepDSpace4Mobility). The project’s findings and recommendations are summarised in the final report Towards a common European mobility data space. 

Technology and governance – making a European data space reality  

Building on the groundwork laid by PrepDSpace4Mobility, the deployEMDS initiative is developing an operational data space and common governance mechanisms. Projects will be implemented in nine European cities and regions: Barcelona, Budapest, Île-de-France, Milan, Lisbon, Flanders, Sofia, Stockholm and Tampere. The project is co-funded by the EU and led and coordinated by acatech. It was officially launched in November 2023 at the Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. 

Please welcome on stage the Culture Data Space!

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for digitalisation in the cultural sector. We can now go to concerts, museums and the theatre in person again. But many people have grown accustomed to the obvious benefits of digital cultural offerings. However, creative artists and culture professionals wishing to offer these benefits are often still forced to use the big digital platforms. This means they are not free to make their own decisions about data sovereignty and value creation.    

Launched in July 2022, the Culture Data Space responds to this problem by providing a digital infrastructure for secure data exchange. The Culture Data Space is coordinated by acatech and brings together actors from all areas of culture, the creative industries, the media and research. Its goal is to create fair, interoperable, digital data infrastructures for cities, municipalities, individual cultural institutions and freelancers.   

Initial use cases were presented at the Federal Government’s Digital Summit (German only) in Jena in November 2023.

Claudia Roth, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (fourth from left), with Culture Data Space project partners 
(© acatech/Christiane Seger)

European Media Data Space supports journalism in the digital age 

The proper use of digital tools is becoming increasingly important for journalists. But small editorial teams in particular often lack the necessary resources. 

The Trusted European Media Data Space (TEMS) (German only) seeks to address this by creating a data space for audiovisual media in Europe that provides anyone interested with access to essential tools. The consortium charged with implementing the project began work in October 2023.

The TEMS consortium’s work has four flagship themes:

• News content and fact-checking
• Audience data recommendations and personalisation
• Collaboration in production chains and digital rights management
• Innovation and new media formats

As a consortium partner, acatech is involved in several sub-projects and coordinates the Media Data Ecosystem Adoption & Governance work programme. Held in Frankfurt in March 2024, the first symposium gave over 1,000 participants the opportunity to discuss the available technologies. The initiative’s website www.tems-dataspace.eu provides information about its priorities and forthcoming events.

Gaia-X Hub Germany: active community develops applications   

acatech coordinates the Gaia-X Hub Germany, helping to create a Gaia-X ecosystem of federated data spaces. Its aim is to use standards and open interfaces to connect formats and data from different sources and share them securely and in compliance with European data protection regulations.   

acatech coordinates the Gaia-X Hub Germany, helping to create a Gaia-X ecosystem of federated data spaces. Its aim is to use standards and open interfaces to connect formats and data from different sources and share them securely and in compliance with European data protection regulations.   

Since February 2022, the hub has supported eleven projects selected through a funding competition. The projects are developing blueprints for the creation of data spaces and example applications of data-driven business models in the Gaia-X ecosystem. In June 2023, halfway through the current funding period, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Christina Schmidt-Holtmann, praised the pioneering contribution made by the eleven Gaia-X projects to the digital transformation in their respective sectors. 

The initiative’s research activities are every bit as important as the development of concrete applications and communities.

At the Hannover Messe (German only) in April 2023, the Gaia-X Hub Germany presented the growing community’s current projects to visitors including Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck.   

* Content only available in German

As life expectancy rises in Germany and other countries, so too does the risk of multiple illnesses and chronic conditions. At the same time, however, scientific and technological advances are enabling a new paradigm in medicine as targeted, individually tailored treatments with fewer side effects become available. Tomorrow’s medicine will be precisely tailored to each patient’s genetic make-up, lifestyle and individual symptoms. Germany is a leading global innovator in the fields of medicine and medical devices. Through its projects, events and contributions to debates, acatech aims to shed light on the complex technological, economic and ethical questions arising in connection with these new solutions.  

 

How can health data drive progress in medicine?

Printers are still clattering, fax machines are still beeping and patient files are still piled up high in practices and hospitals the length and breadth of Germany. Paper-based data sharing takes time that would be better spent on patient care. 

Fundamental changes in the healthcare system are required so that data can be used more effectively. Published in June 2023, the acatech IMPULSE Secure, Controlled Use of Health Data discusses the potential and policy options in this area. It proposes national rules, common strategies for improving data quality and a frank public debate. The paper concludes that, given the obvious benefits, failure to make use of health data entails serious risks. 

The advantages of using digital health data in medicine are now so obvious that it would be negligent not to use them.  

Thomas Lenarz, Department Chairman at Hannover Medical School and co-chair of the acatech Healthcare Technologies topic network

Accurate and balanced communication of the facts about electronic patient records

People with statutory health insurance have been able to create an electronic patient record (ePA) since 2021. ePAs store medical results and information from all practices and hospitals in one place. This can significantly improve individual medical care by allowing medical professionals to devote more time to actually treating patients and by preventing duplicate examinations. The patient decides whether and how widely they wish to use the ePA, which data should be stored or deleted in their patient record and who can access their data.  

While almost 1.2 million people in Germany currently use electronic patient records, many others have never even heard of them. How can we make it as easy as possible for more people to form an opinion about whether they would like to create their own electronic patient record? One option investigated by acatech is the ePA Check-up web app (German only) which it developed, tested and evaluated in conjunction with the Körber Foundation.  

Sample pages from the ePA Check-up app (German only), mobile device view. 
Left to right: the app’s home page, the initial survey page, the diagnosis home page and one of the pages about data (Source: www.epa-checkup.de). 

Full details of the campaign are provided in the November 2023 publication Kampagne zur Website ePA Check-up (German only). A range of digital marketing methods were used to reach a large audience. Almost twelve million people viewed information about the website on their social media feeds and the Internet, while some 70,000 actually visited the ePA Check-up site during the campaign. The working group concluded that large numbers of people can be reached through digital solutions like this. Those who visited the site also spent a lot of time there. In short, this approach can help people to obtain information and form an opinion.    

The impact assessment revealed that the ePA Check-up can help people who are still undecided about the ePA to make up their minds. However, very few people who already had an opinion about electronic patient records changed their fundamental stance after visiting the ePA Check-up site. This was to be expected given the deliberately neutral presentation of the information and yes/no questions about the ePA. 

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Mobility supports quality of life, social inclusion, security of supply and prosperity. The need for the mobility system to adapt to a changing world and become more resilient is greater than ever. At the same time, it also needs to be made compatible with environmental and climate goals. Innovation and technology neutrality are key to the development of appropriate technological solutions. It is vital to take the public’s mobility requirements into account in order to ensure needs-based implementation of solutions that are suitable for everyday use. The findings of the project “Integrated Urban Development and Mobility Planning” are encapsulated in the motto “Ankommen statt unterwegs sein”. This German phrase expresses the principle of people having to travel as little as possible to get to where they need to be. The idea is that urban spaces and mobility should be planned and implemented in a way that enables resource-efficient mobility by minimising the length of people’s everyday journeys. Meanwhile, 2023’s representative Mobility Monitor survey investigated the everyday travel behaviours of people in Germany and what they think about the transition to sustainable mobility.

Integrating urban development and mobility planning

Environmentally, economically and socially sustainable everyday mobility requires a joined-up approach to space and mobility, and its implementation calls for integrated urban and regional development. A project (German only) begun in 2020 and led by acatech Members Klaus J. Beckmann and Helmut Holzapfel has developed a series of recommendations based on an analysis of existing approaches in Germany and Europe.

The project’s publications discuss how to create “liveable urban regions” that offer people a pleasant and accessible environment. The acatech STUDY “Ankommen statt unterwegs sein” (German only) features cities that have already reimagined and redesigned space and mobility. Paris, for example, is pioneering the 15-minute city, where all people’s everyday needs can be accessed within a 15-minute walk or bus, rail or bike ride.

An acatech POSITION PAPER (German only) concludes that in order to follow this or other examples, local authorities in Germany need more leeway to make their own decisions, together with a supportive overall framework and legal certainty. A guide for local authorities (German only) provides a concise explanation of the contexts and effects of integrated planning. It also presents 16 action modules that describe the principles and tools needed for successful implementation. acatech presented the project’s findings at a wrap-up event at Berlin’s Futurium museum in early 2024.

The extension of experimentation clauses could be a useful tool for giving local authorities more leeway. These clauses offer them a limited exemption from the relevant regulations, during which time they can trial certain projects and evaluate their impacts.

Sendlinger Straße in Munich is a good example. When the street was initially pedestrianised on a trial basis, people started going for a stroll there and enjoying this newly accessible space. Retailers also benefited from the increased footfall. After just one year, it was clear that it should stay that way.

acatech Member and project leader Klaus J. Beckmann

One of the project’s main aims was to engage in a dialogue with the public. An event held on Munich’s Marienplatz during IAA Mobility (German only) provided an opportunity to discuss how to create streets, cycle paths and access routes where people feel safe. Organised in conjunction with the Philipp Lahm-Stiftung, a workshop with the SV 67 Weinberg women’s football team in west Bavaria discussed the everyday mobility challenges faced by sportspeople. For a small club like Weinberg, playing in the second tier of German women’s football is not just challenging on the pitch. To get to their away games, they sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometres. And as none of the talented women’s squad actually lives in Weinberg itself, many of them also face a long car journey to get to their four weekly training sessions. The suggested improvements and solutions that the workshop participants came up with were subsequently fed into the project.

Mobility behaviours in Germany

The representative Mobility Monitor survey (German only) investigates the mobility behaviours of people in Germany and reveals what they think about the transition to sustainable mobility. The 2023 edition found that even in a year marked by multiple crises, climate action was not relegated to the back of people’s minds. The respondents thought that the transport sector has a key role to play in tackling climate change. Accordingly, they want to see an expansion of public transport, an increase in the percentage of freight transported by rail and waterways, and low-emission drive systems.

Nevertheless, the car was once again by far the most widely used means of transport in 2023. 47 percent of those surveyed said they use their car every day, and a further 23 percent drive several times a week. 72 percent of the population regard their car as indispensable, whereas the figures for bicycles and public transport are 51 percent and 42 percent respectively. It is important to note that there were pronounced differences in the responses for urban and rural areas.

Many people said that switching to an eco-friendlier electric car isn’t an option. The figure for people who would consider buying an electric car remained more or less the same at 23 percent – since 2019, it has fluctuated between 21 and 24 percent. People’s main reservations are the high purchase price (71 percent), the feeling that there aren’t enough charging stations (64 percent) and the high cost of electricity (62 percent).

The results of the Mobility Monitor survey yield valuable insights for science, industry and policymakers in relation to the future transformation of the mobility system. In the near future, people and goods will need to be able to get from A to B in a safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly manner if the transport sector is to meet its own challenging climate targets. This will call for alternative drives, more attractive private and public transport options and better coordination of all modes of transport. Moreover, given the daily volumes of commuter traffic and congestion, Germany must take a joined-up approach to mobility and space and must implement integrated planning. acatech is currently developing concepts to meet this need for integrated urban development and mobility planning.

acatech President Thomas Weber

Following their publication in February 2023, the results of the Mobility Monitor survey sparked widespread debate about the car’s importance to everyday mobility in Germany.  

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Prosperity, growth and competitiveness can be compatible with environmental and climate action, however the development and use of new technologies – i.e. innovations – is key to making this possible. Innovations come about as a result of research and development. They are turned into applications by innovative companies and start-ups and require an innovation-friendly public and policy environment. This means government regulations and efficient administrative structures that provide targeted support for the commercialisation and public use of innovations. First and foremost, however, innovation requires people to develop and shape it – and it is to these skilled professionals that acatech devoted the first issue of its “Germany’s Innovation System” series.    

Future Council of the Federal Chancellor

The Future Council convened by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz focuses on new developments, discoveries and trends in the innovation cycle. The Council comprises high-level representatives of science and industry who formulate proposals for strengthening resilience and technological sovereignty in key enabling technologies and in the field of digitalisation.  

The organisational side of the Future Council is managed by an acatech project office which provides background documentation on the different topics, ensuring a common factual and discussion basis for the advice provided to the Federal Government.

On 6 June 2023, the members of the Future Council met for the third time since its establishment. At the invitation of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the participants discussed biotechnology as a key technology of the 21^st century. The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck, Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach, and Head of the Federal Chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt. The discussion focused on the economic potential of biotechnology for German industry. The Council’s members stressed the need to build on the successes of biotechnology during the Covid-19 pandemic and identified the conditions and actions required to make this happen. In addition to an excellent research landscape, Germany has successful pharmaceutical and chemical companies and partners in medical and industrial biotechnology. The participants agreed that these conditions should be fostered in order to translate research results into applications and enable the development of internationally important biotechnology hubs. The opportunities arising from the use of artificial intelligence and data in biotechnology were also highlighted. In addition, the discussions touched on how Germany can position itself resiliently in international value networks and how it can benefit as soon as possible from new applications aligned with European values. The Council stressed the importance of this for securing technological sovereignty and long-term prosperity. 

AI-based robotics is also a key technology for the transformative, Industrie 4.0-based modernisation of manufacturing industry and for tackling major social challenges like demographic change. In the IMPULSE Innovation Potential of AI-based Robotics, published in November 2023, the Future Council discusses how robotics can help to secure value-added in the face of growing global competition and also contribute to maintaining technological sovereignty.

The postponed fourth meeting of the Future Council took place on 26 January 2024, when participants discussed the use of generative AI to strengthen competitiveness and technological sovereignty. The main question addressed at this meeting was “What conditions must be in place to step up the development and use of generative AI in Germany?”.

The foundations are in place for Germany to quickly close the gap on the current global leaders. Germany has outstanding research and talents and strong domain knowledge and data resources in both large industrial enterprises and SMEs. The Future Council stressed that science and industry need appropriate computing capacity in order to implement ideas for innovative AI applications. It concluded that the challenges should be tackled jointly at European level and through partnerships between government and industry at national level. The whole generative AI value chain should be addressed and skills and technological ecosystems should be developed locally with the aim of ending unilateral dependencies and anchoring European values in AI models. 

Germany’s innovation system: tackling the skills shortage    

@acatech

A vibrant innovation system is key to prosperity, competitiveness and sustainability. But what is the current state of Germany’s innovation system? What are the main challenges and how might they be addressed? These are the questions investigated by the acatech project Germany’s Innovation System. 

Published in 2023, the project’s first study focused on securing Germany’s skills base. The potential workforce is likely to decline as a result of demographic change. This will further exacerbate the current skills shortages, to the detriment of Germany’s innovation system.  

In order to address the skills shortage, the project team led by acatech Executive Board members Christoph M. Schmidt and Ann-Kristin Achleitner proposes measures to access the potential workforce in Germany more effectively (e.g. work-friendly childcare). However, they also regard an increase in skilled immigrant workers as indispensable. To facilitate this, Germany will first need to become a more attractive destination for immigrants by making it easier for them to come and stay there. It will be especially important to streamline, digitalise and centralise visa applications and the process for recognising professional qualifications. This will require well-resourced, digitalised government agencies. The state must also promote further efforts to digitalise the workplace and reform the education and training system.

A societal and political commitment to economic migration is needed, as is a bureaucratic culture that is service-oriented and enabling.

acatech Vice-President Christoph M. Schmidt

Following their publication in summer 2023, the acatech project group’s recommendations attracted widespread attention in the media and among policymakers (both German only). In the autumn, Christoph M. Schmidt discussed the study’s findings at an online “acatech am Dienstag” event. 

What is the reason for the STEM gender gap?

According to the Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects 2023 (German only), ten-year-old boys’ performance in mathematics is around 15 school weeks ahead of their female classmates. Moreover, women are vastly underrepresented in occupations requiring apprenticeships or other formal training in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  

The annual Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects is produced by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) on behalf of acatech and the Joachim Herz Foundation. It summarises the main studies in the field of STEM education and makes appropriate recommendations. Referencing the gender gap, IPN Managing Director and acatech Member Olaf Köller said:

Not least because of the skills shortage, we cannot tolerate a situation where many girls are opting out of STEM education at an early age. The STEM subjects are seen by many, often subconsciously and unintentionally, as more of a male domain. This view is widespread among girls, which is why female pupils often feel less drawn to STEM subjects than other subjects. Efforts should be made to overcome these powerful gender stereotypes. We need far more positive female role models.

Olaf Köller, Managing Director of the
Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) 

On a positive note, STEM courses at German universities are very popular with foreign students. According to the Barometer of Young Talents in the STEM Subjects 2023, the number of foreign STEM students enrolling rose by around ten percent compared with the previous year.  

Germany is still known for its engineering prowess and this reputation attracts students to the country. The fact that so many people from all over the world come here to study STEM subjects should motivate us to further strengthen STEM education. Ultimately, this is what lays the groundwork for Germany as an innovation hub. STEM knowledge helps Germany develop ideas and technologies to tackle the major challenges of our time – climate change, the energy supply and resource scarcity.

acatech President Jan Wörner 

What are the right communication formats for shaping technological change?  

The benefits of new technologies only come to bear if they are at least tolerated by individuals and ideally accepted by society as a whole. This calls for dialogue and opportunities to shape technological change together. Since 2020, an acatech project on shaping technological change has been investigating appropriate communication formats and their impact on the target groups. Its findings were presented in Berlin at the end of 2023. 

The project investigated two separate questions: 

Focus groups are a research method where small groups engage in focused, moderated discussions. In the first sub-project, research was carried out in two municipalities to assess whether focus groups can, in general, help participants to form opinions. The focus group in the small Brandenburg town of Wittenberge discussed the potential of e-government. In Wuppertal, which is regularly threatened with flooding due to its location in a valley along the River Wupper, the discussions considered how digital tools can support emergency management.  

The second sub-project investigated whether a gamified website is a suitable tool for helping people form opinions about a complex digital innovation like electronic patient records (ePAs). From 2025, an ePA will automatically be created for all German citizens unless they actively opt out. The “ePA Check-up” (German only) developed by the project team guides website visitors through various topics, using illustrative examples, expert opinions and quiz elements to show the benefits and risks associated with the ePA. At the end of the “check-up”, users receive an evaluation of their current opinion. The website will remain online until at least the end of 2024. 

We keep hearing that we need to ‘take the public with us’ when it comes to technological change. But that’s a misleading image: it sounds as if people are sitting in the back of the car and don’t know their destination. Car pools are a much better image that reflects the active role of citizens in shaping technological change. This was the approach taken by the project: we wanted to develop and test communication formats that make participants feel like they are being taken seriously and allow them to form an opinion based on impartial facts.

acatech President and project manager Jan Wörner 

* Content only available in German

Using different formats ranging from traditional panel discussions to science slams – and in collaboration with various partners – acatech seeks to promote a dialogue with the public by making expert knowledge publicly accessible and stimulating debate about the future of science and engineering. In-depth projects and initiatives analyse socio-technical transformation processes and public discourses.

What do people in Germany think about technology?

The TechnikRadar survey published by acatech, the Körber Foundation and ZIRIUS has been investigating what people in Germany think about technology since 2018. This year, the representative survey focused on energy. How do people aim to reduce their energy consumption? What energy upgrades are they planning? And how can smart home technology help?

One important finding of the 2023 TechnikRadar survey was that photovoltaics and solar thermal have become more popular as a result of rising energy prices. These are the technologies most favoured by homeowners: of the 79 percent planning to carry out energy upgrades in the near future, 45.9 percent intend to install solar panels, while almost a third (31.7 percent) want to install a solar thermal system in their home.

Smart home technology is experiencing a similar boom to solar power. Compared to TechnikRadar 2018, the use of smart home technology has more than doubled among respondents in Germany. While 8.1 percent reported using it in 2018, the figure in the latest survey had risen to 21 percent.

People in Germany regard climate warming as one of the most pressing issues for the future, alongside safeguarding jobs, protecting national security and online data protection.

Following the TechnikRadar survey’s publication, acatech used its findings to engage in a dialogue with experts, policymakers and the public:

• Project leader Cordula Kropp presented and discussed the results at the Sustainability Day of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).
• acatech President Jan Wörner used the study as a basis for discussing a sustainable transformation of the building sector with parliamentarians at an “acatech am Morgen” breakfast event in the German Bundestag.

The results of our 2023 TechnikRadar survey show that the majority of Germans support more sustainable ways of constructing and using buildings. For example, they are favourably disposed towards renewable energy, energy efficiency upgrades and sustainable building materials.

acatech President Jan Wörner

Salvation or threat? Discussing controversial key technologies  

acatech provides advice to the public through a dialogue with various social groups. To enable this dialogue, the Academy established a series or regular “acatech am Dienstag” (acatech on Tuesday) events where representatives of science, industry, government, the media and other organisations engage in discussion with interested members of the public. Experts give talks about and discuss a wide range of topics, from artificial intelligence and the skills shortage to geoengineering, fracking and health in the era of big data. As well as some of the key innovation questions of our time, the programme also covers new topics that are not yet part of acatech’s work. “acatech am Dienstag” also provides a space for new, experimental and fun formats like the science slams at the “Münchner Wissenschaftstage” science festival and the Münchner Volkshochschule (German only).

Once again, many of the “acatech am Dienstag” discussion events in 2023 were held online. However, some face-to-face events did take place, including one at the Deutsches Museum in Munich which asked “What does the energy transition mean for Germany as a place to do business?” and further events at the acatech Forum in Karolinenplatz.

More than 5,100 people took part in the 33 public dialogue events in 2023. acatech organises events with a wide range of partners. One example is the collaboration between “acatech am Dienstag” and the further education colleges platform “vhs.wissen live” (German only). Other public dialogue events were held in conjunction with the Deutsches Museum, the “Münchner Wissenschaftstage” science festival, the Munich Re Foundation and the Catholic Academy in Bavaria.

In 2023, acatech also continued the series of dialogue events on “Innovation and Responsibility” in partnership with the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing and LMU Munich’s Technology-Theology-Natural Sciences Institute. Following an in-depth analysis and discussion of this topic in the Academy’s Working Group on Fundamental Questions in Science and Engineering, the public dialogue event in Tutzing focused on the question “What military technology does Europe need?” (German only). In view of recent changes in Europe’s security policy landscape, participants discussed the conflicting priorities of university research and the economic utilisation of military technology, considering perspectives from the fields of technology, industry, research and ethics.

acatech continues to devise innovative science communication formats to pass on experience and knowledge to young scientists, engineers and communication professionals. Organised by acatech in conjunction with Wissenschaft im Dialog, the “Lernwerkstatt Technikkommunikation” (technology communication workshop) plays a key role in enabling this knowledge sharing. The twenty participants showed a lively interest in topics such as how to identify and address different target groups, managing the digital media revolution and the rise in disinformation. Disinformation was also discussed with experts from science, industry, journalism and non-profit organisations at a special end-of-year internal acatech conference organised by the Technology and Society Working Group and the Safety and Security Topic Network.

Outstanding and engaged: the rising female stars of 2023

Entrenched traditional stereotypes make it harder for girls and young women to enter professions in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). As a result, they are less likely to choose degrees and careers in the STEM subjects. Moreover, the percentage of women steadily declines the higher up the academic ladder you go, reaching its lowest level among professors.

acatech established the “Schnieder-Preis JUNGE MACHERIN” to support female talents in the technological sciences and encourage them to advance their careers. acatech’s Members nominate female science and engineering graduates for the €3,000 prize, which is awarded annually and forms part of the Academy’s efforts to promote gender equality in the technological sciences.

acatech awarded the “Schnieder-Preis JUNGE MACHERIN” to Jana Zhang at a prizegiving ceremony in the Institute Berlin of the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB) on 11 October 2023. The judges were impressed by her excellent Master’s thesis on new quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) techniques to improve the determination of the spatial distribution of abdominal T1 relaxation times, as well as her various extracurricular activities and voluntary work. The jury felt that she met all three of the prize’s criteria to an exceptional degree. In his prizegiving speech, Tobias Schäffter, Head of the Institute Berlin of the PTB, Professor of Biomedical Imaging at TU Berlin and supervisor of Jana Zhang’s Master’s thesis, commended the originality and exceptional scientific quality of the Master’s thesis. He reserved special praise for Jana Zhang’s attentiveness and enthusiasm, as well as her technical skills and interest in medical issues. He said that the original aspect of Ms Zhang’s ambitious Master’s thesis is that both motion fields and T1 data are generated from the same measurements.

In addition to winner Jana Zhang, acatech also shortlisted Friederike Butt and Melanie Johanning for the Schnieder-Preis JUNGE MACHERIN. Friederike Butt studied physics at the Institute for Quantum Information at RWTH Aachen University. She completed her Master’s thesis on the theoretical development and analysis of new protocols for the fault-tolerant operation of logical qubits. Melanie Johanning completed a Master’s in materials science at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Her Master’s thesis investigated processes for recycling oxygen transport membranes as part of a major Federal Ministry of Education and Research project on green hydrogen. Given the strong field, the panel decided to award special commendations to both of these outstanding graduates in recognition of the fact that they too are exceptional young female researchers and rising stars who fulfil the prize’s criteria.

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acatech HORIZONS: explaining complex topics clearly and concisely 

acatech’s HORIZONS series makes topical, environmentally and socially significant technology issues accessible to the layperson. Each edition is devoted to a technology field that opens up new horizons, is economically important and enables social change. The acatech HORIZONS publications provide a clear, easily understood, evidence-based overview of these topics. They set out the facts and discuss the social, economic and policy issues and the options for addressing them. The edition published in 2023 focused on hydrogen.

The publication shows that hydrogen presents a huge opportunity for the environment and the economy if government, science, industry and the public all pull together. It explains that electrical energy can be temporarily stored and transported from A to B in hydrogen, before subsequently being converted into electricity. Alternatively, hydrogen can be used as a feedstock in industry.

Hydrogen can replace the fossil fuels that power aircraft, ships, trucks and industrial plants. The publication also explains the role of hydrogen in green steel production and in the manufacture of fertilisers. In short, this HORIZONS issue shows why a hydrogen economy is key to the future of European industry.

It is evident that a climate-friendly hydrogen economy will call for international partnerships with parts of the world that have plenty of sunshine, wind and open spaces. Both sides stand to benefit: Europe gets to import climate-friendly hydrogen, while jobs and environmentally sustainable prosperity are created in the exporting countries.

The production of green hydrogen offers countries in the Global South an opportunity for economic development. It is in the interests of industrialised nations to transfer financial resources and technological know-how to them in exchange for their transition away from fossil fuels.

acatech Vice-President Christoph M. Schmidt

At an online event organised by HORIZONS as part of the Berliner ENERGIETAGE convention, experts Ulrike Hinz, Robert Schlögl and Nikolas Iwan discussed whether hydrogen can be the saviour of the climate and the economy.

The discussion was followed by

Other platforms for the issues addressed by the HORIZONS series include the HORIZONS logbook (German only), social media and the podcast series, which was relaunched in 2023.

“Late Night Tech” features in-depth conversations with the experts on technology-related topics – but with a personal touch. In one HORIZONS podcast, for example, IT expert and acatech Executive Board member Claudia Eckert talks about cybersecurity and her own career.

What makes good technology journalism?  

acatech’s PUNKT prize for journalism recognises well-researched, independent science and technology journalism that helps people understand technological developments and enhances the public discourse in science, innovation and technology. Since the 2022 prizes were awarded for written (German only) technology journalism, in 2023 it was once again the turn of entries in the Photo and Digital (formerly multimedia) categories.

acatech again received several outstanding entries this year. In the Digital category, the jury comprising representatives of journalism, science, photography and the media shortlisted entries from BR, ZEIT ONLINE and Tagesspiegel. In the Photo category, they shortlisted three photo series by freelance photographers.

The prizes were awarded at the “WISSENSWERTE” research congress in Freiburg in October 2023. The PUNKT Digital prize went to a BR team led by Rebecca Ciesielski for the research and groundbreaking digital presentation  of an article revealing the threat posed by biometric devices to people in Afghanistan. The Photo category was won by Jan Richard Heinicke for his photo series “The Past is the Key to the Future”. acatech President Jan Wörner praised the series for its exceptional photographic documentation of paleoclimatology, remarking that its unusual, aesthetic perspective on climate change made it a worthy winner of the PUNKT prize.

Bringing art, science and technology together 

Art, science and technology all reimagine the future in their own way. Launched in 2020 with the aim of bringing these different disciplines together, the interdisciplinary Driving the Human project received over 1,000 applications. The 7 projects selected from a shortlist of 21 presented their prototypes as room installations, architectural models and video games at the Driving the Human Festival, a three-day project wrap-up event in November 2022.

The book “Seven Prototypes for Eco-social Renewal” documents the project milestones and widens the discussion. It features contributions from experts with creative visions in the fields of science, technology and the arts. Kim Albrecht, Brigitte Baptiste, Jan Boelen, Corine Pelluchon, Peter Weibel and many more help to create new insights for a sustainable future.

At the book’s heart are the seven prototypes for eco-social renewal, each proposing new ways to engage with one another and the planet. They include an exploration of how artificial intelligence could help to mitigate climate change, a film that reflects on how humans use animals to carry geolocators, and an opportunity to experience the Arctic from the perspective of birds or bacteria.

The publication of the book, which marks the end of this three-year project, was celebrated on the “Driving the Human Book Tour 2023” with dates in Milan, Lisbon and Berlin. As well as lively discussions, the Berlin event also offered participants the opportunity to get creative themselves. Run by biotechnologist and acatech Member Vera Meyer, the workshop “Interweaving Architectures of the Future with Fungi” mixed biotechnology with art.

“Driving the Human” was a joint project of the four partner institutions acatech, the mentoring platform Forecast, Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) and the Karlsruhe Center for Art and Media (ZKM). It was funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.

* Content only available in German

acatech is the voice of the technological sciences, representing them at national, EU and global levels. At European level, the Academy organises the Sounding Board on Innovation, is a member of the umbrella organisation Euro-CASE, and coordinates the EU project SAPEA.

European policy advice  

Euro-CASE

acatech is a member of the European umbrella organisation Euro-CASE (European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering), which brings together 23 academies of science and technology with a total of 6,000 experts. Euro-CASE’s President is Tuula Teeri, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, while acatech President Jan Wörner is member of the Board. In 2023, Euro-CASE focused on developing a new communication strategy and addressing raw materials in the geopolitical context.  

To promote transatlantic cooperation, Euro-CASE organises the annual EU-US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium together with the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The symposium provides young engineers from Europe and the US an opportunity to discuss ways of optimising the use of innovative technologies for the benefit of society. The 2023 symposium in New Jersey (USA) addressed topics such as “The Quantum Era Challenge”, “Computational Era in Life Sciences and Chemistry” and “Future Directions in Additive Manufacturing”. In September 2023, the Euro-CASE Annual Conference, hosted by the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain in Madrid focussed on “Energy Challenges in Europe – The Role of Engineering in Securing Supplies and Technologies”. The conference opened with a video message from European Commissioner Thierry Breton.

SAPEA – Science Advice for Policy by European Academies

The five European Academy Networks — Academia Europaea, ALLEA, Euro-CASE, FEAM and YASAS — bring together the expertise of more than 110 academies in over 40 countries across Europe. Through the SAPEA – Science Advice for Policy by European Academies project, they form part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM). The SAPEA project is funded through Horizon Europe and is coordinated by acatech. The aim is to ensure that scientific evidence plays a stronger role from the earliest stages of the European policymaking process.

The European Commissioners request from the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors advice on scientific topics that are directly relevant to policymaking. The academies prepare reports that bring together the available evidence and formulate evidence-based policy options, using an independent, interdisciplinary approach based on the best available scientific data. The SAPEA Evidence Review Reports provide the scientific basis for the Scientific Opinions presented to the European Commission by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors.

In 2023, SAPEA published the Evidence Review Report “Sustainable food consumption” at the request of European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides. Its findings are informing the review of the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy. The working group includes acatech Member Andrea Büttner.

SAPEA has also started to work on the Evidence Review Reports “Solar radiation modification” requested by Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans; “Use of AI in science”, requested by Vice-President Margrethe Vestager; and “One Health”, requested by Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides.

SAPEA also expanded its podcast series, which provides information on formats of policy advice. One episode features an interview with acatech Member Ottmar Edenhofer, Chair of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and,  discussing “Giving climate advice in Europe”. In October 2023, SAPEA co-organised the European Commission’s two-day conference “Science for policy in Europe” in Brussels. Guests included Nicole Grobert, Chair of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission; Antonio Loprieno, Chair of SAPEA; Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council; Stephen Quest, Director-General of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre; and Barbara Prainsack, acatech Member and Chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies.

European Sounding Board on Innovation

Since November 2022, acatech has been advising and supporting the European Commission on innovation matters. The inaugural high-level Round Table of the European Sounding Board on Innovation took place in April 2023, co-chaired by former European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, and acatech President Jan Wörner.

With the European Sounding Board on Innovation, acatech offers a direct advisory instrument for all European Commissioners working on innovation under the “European Innovation Agenda”. Leading figures from European science and industry offer strategic guidance on future issues.

The European Sounding Board on Innovation focuses on strategic, structural, and social aspects of innovation to bolster Europe’s innovative capacity.

acatech’s Brussels Office

The Brussels Office contributes the Academy’s evidence-based advice to political decisions at European level. It organises the European Sounding Board on Innovation and other events.

acatech Executive Board member Peter Dabrock visited the Brussels office with a group of students from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, gaining insights into the office’s work and the vibrant debates surrounding innovation policy developments in Europe as well as Germany’s role in them. As part of their trip, the students attended an evening event in Brussels co-organized by acatech, which discussed the ethical perspectives on the limitations of artificial intelligence regulation.

Global cooperation

It is acatech’s firm conviction that international thinking and cooperation are key to Germany’s future success and competitiveness. Guided by this fundamental principle, acatech has, right from the outset, sought to build bilateral relationships with engineering academies, foundations, think tanks and other organisations. The Academy also engages in the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS). This cooperation allows acatech to place the national issues that it addresses in an international context and incorporate ideas from other countries into its own work.

acatech engagement in the academies’ association CAETS

acatech has been a member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences CAETS since 2005. 31 academies of engineering and technological sciences collaborate under the CAETS umbrella. CAETS develops solutions to global challenges, formulates evidence-based policy options, promotes social dialogue and works to advance the education of engineers at international level.

This year’s Annual Meetings and Technical Symposium was attended by acatech Member Ulrich Wagner who took part in an international panel on the “Electrification of Transport in Integrated Fully Decarbonized Societies”.

At the CAETS Council Meeting and the CAETS Board Meeting on 10 October 2023, the CAETS presidency was assumed by the Finnish Academy of Technical Sciences. The next CAETS Annual Meetings will take place in Helsinki in July 2024, while acatech will host the 2026 event.

Cooperation with international academies

acatech maintains numerous partnerships with sister academies around the world. In 2023, there was a particular emphasis on strengthening cooperation with the French and Swiss academies of engineering. An initial workshop allowed for more in-depth discussion of the ties between the academies. This led to acatech and the French academy setting out their first cooperation priorities in July 2023 with the announcement that they will be formulating joint positions on energy and mobility. The efforts to promote bilateral cooperation also resulted in the President of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) joining the acatechImpulskreis Europe/International in 2023.

Regular, in-depth discussions also took place with colleagues from Switzerland on the subject of foresight. The discussions provided input for developing the process that acatech uses to identify which topics it works on. Other collaborations included a joint video project to raise the academies’ profile and a joint “acatech am Dienstag” event.

Shaping the future together with the Impulskreis Europe/International

The first meeting of the newly established Impulskreis Europe/International in March 2023 was chaired by acatech President Jan Wörner. The purpose of the Impulskreis is to provide strategic guidance for acatech’s European and international activities and facilitate their development. One question that quickly arose related to the partners and countries that acatech can and should cooperate with in view of recent geopolitical changes. Following on from the discussion, Jan Wörner formulated the strategy “Positioning acatech in a changing globalisation landscape” to help guide the Academy’s choice of global partners and topics.

Sino-German cooperation

Notwithstanding the above, it remains essential to engage in discussion with other countries around the globe and to compare and study what everyone is doing and learn from each other. It was this mindset that informed the meeting between acatech President Jan Wörner and the Chinese Vice Minister for Science and Technology, Zhang Guangjun on 19 June 2023 in Berlin. Jan Wörner and Zhang Guangjun agreed to strengthen science-based cooperation, building on the partnership with the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) that acatech has maintained since 2012.

At a meeting on 14 November 2023, acatech President Jan Wörner and British Ambassador Jill Gallard strongly signalled their commitment to a British-German innovation partnership. As well as engaging in dialogue on topics of common interest, they also expressed their intention to carry out projects on specific themes.

Science and Technology in Society forum

acatech President Jan Wörner and Michael Dowling, acatech Member and Chairman of the Management Board of Münchner Kreis, took part in the Science and Technology in Society forum (STS forum) in October. In his keynote speech, Jan Wörner explained how space can help to find solutions to many of the problems we encounter here on Earth. In his session, Michael Dowling argued that hyperautomation will have an even more profound influence on the economy and society in years to come.

Confederation of Indian Industry visits acatech

acatech President Jan Wörner welcomed senior representatives of Indian companies in September 2023. The discussion focused on the innovation process – the chains and networks linking research, application and commercialisation. In Germany in particular, it can sometimes be challenging to make the leap from research to application. A new initiative has been launched to accelerate this process in the field of AI. Mission KI is a joint project of acatech and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

Dialogue on productivity between Japan, Germany and USA

In partnership with acatech, the MÜNCHNER KREIS and the Japanese-German Business Association (DJW), the Japan Productivity Center has established a forum for board members of prominent German, Japanese and American companies to discuss productivity in the digital age.

acatech President Jan Wörner, acatech Member and Chairman of the Management Board of Münchner Kreis, Michael Dowling, and Managing Director of Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, Wilfried Breuer, attended the dialogue on 4 October in Tokyo (Japan). In view of recent geopolitical shifts, the participants discussed how to strengthen strategic autonomy without holding back foreign trade.

Proposed solutions included strengthening strategic alliances with countries that share European values and priorities. However, it was suggested that increasing the flexibility of traditional value chains, digitalisation and the use of smart systems can also play a major role in growing productivity in years to come.

Impressions of the Business Leader Forum in Tokyo (Japan)
(© acatech/Michael Dowling)

Assisting with the reconstruction of Ukrainian industry

In November, Jan Wörner welcomed representatives of Ukrainian ministries in Berlin to discuss strategic approaches to the reconstruction of industry in Ukraine. The Ukrainian guests cited the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 as an example of why Ukraine’s decision makers urgently need concrete, science-based advice. They explained that Ukraine is now unsure about whether or not to rebuild the dam. The energy, food and water supply aspects must be weighed up against the dam’s potential impacts, for example on biodiversity. acatech’s approach to policy advice can help to address questions like this. A project outline has already been drawn up and submitted to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Members 

acatech’s Members are scientists from the fields of engineering, the applied sciences, the humanities, economics and the social sciences who are invited to join the Academy on the basis of their outstanding scientific achievements. The 39 new Members elected by the Academy’s annual General Assembly in October 2023 strengthen its interdisciplinary scientific expertise in specific areas. The newly elected scientists bring the total number of acatech Members up to 665. 

I extend a warm welcome to acatech’s new Members. As the range of future topics grows, interdisciplinary cooperation becomes increasingly important. In this dynamic environment, the proven expertise of acatech’s Members will ensure and enhance the quality and relevance of the science-based advice that acatech provides to policymakers and the public. I would like to thank all our Members for the part they play in this.

acatech President Jan Wörner

At their annual meeting, the Members set the direction of acatech’s future development and the themes of the Academy’s work. The discussions focused on interdisciplinary collaboration and ways of strengthening strategic sovereignty, while recently elected Members had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their research. Participants also enjoyed a keynote speech in which acatech Executive Board member and renowned expert in the field of medical devices, Katja Schenke-Layland, discussed the contributions made by the technological sciences to advancements in medicine and healthcare.  

Senate 

acatech’s Senate forms the second pillar of the Academy, alongside the Members. The Senate is made up of leading figures from technology companies, industry associations and the major science organisations. The members of the Senate advise the Academy on strategic issues and complement its scientific expertise with practical, business-focused perspectives. Comprising staff members who they designate themselves, the “Senate Network” provides the Senate members with strategic content, communication and policy support. 

Once a year, the Senate members come together for their annual meeting in Munich. At the July 2023 meeting hosted by aviation and aerospace company Airbus, they discussed the future of the aerospace industry. 

The virtual events in the “SENAT digital” series provide acatech Senate members with a regular opportunity to discuss specific topics. In 2023, members of the Senate and Senate Network discussed hybrid working and the challenges and opportunities of the new norm and strengthening the start-up culture in Germany.     

The acatech Senate comprised 112 individual and corporate members as of 31 December 2023.

Executive Board and Management Board  

The Executive Board is responsible for directing the Academy’s scientific activities. Together with the Managing Director, its 18 members represent acatech’s twin science and industry pillars. 12 of the Executive Board’s members are elected from the General Assembly and 6 from the acatech Senate. Jan Wörner has served as the scientific President since 2021.

In March 2023, Thomas Weber was elected to succeed Reinhard Ploss as the President representing the industry side. The two Presidents plus the Managing Director and Vice-Presidents Ann-Kristin Achleitner, Ursula Gather (who succeeded Thomas Weber as Vice-President in March 2023), Stefan Oschmann and Christoph M. Schmidt make up the body that carries out detailed preparations for Executive Board meetings. acatech’s Management Board consists of the two Presidents and the Managing Director.

Board of Trustees 

The acatech Board of Trustees comprises prominent figures from science, industry, government and civil society. Chaired by Henning Kagermann, it helps the Vice-Presidents and in particular the Management Board to determine the Academy’s strategic direction. The Board of Trustees meets every six months and had 23 members in 2023. 

acatech offices 

The acatech Office in Munich is the Academy’s headquarters. It is home to the Academy’s senior management and the majority of its staff in the support, organisation and administration functions, as well as those responsible for specific priority themes. acatech also has a Berlin office and an office in Brussels that coordinates the Academy’s networking activities at EU level. In 2023, a total of 212 people were employed at acatech’s offices, approximately 60 percent of whom were women. Over the course of the year, the Academy was also supported by 44 student assistants.

Finances

acatech is a non-profit organisation. Its institutional funding is shared equally between the Federal Government, the 16 German Länder and the State of Bavaria. This is supplemented by public and private project funding.