Economics Ministry banking on sustainable technology projects
The Federal Government today adopted ten forward-looking projects to implement the 2020 High-Tech Strategy. These forward-looking projects are to bring together the Federal Government's research and innovation activities in especially promising fields of technology. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is involved in four of these projects: "Intelligent restructuring of the energy supply", "Sustainable mobility", "Internet-based business services", and "Industry 4.0".
Dr. Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, stated: "These forward-looking projects will strengthen Germany as a base for business and innovation. We are giving a fresh boost to the activities to implement Germany's energy reforms, and are pressing ahead with the digitisation of business and society. To this end, we are getting all the stakeholders on board: advances in technology, research and innovation cannot be dictated from above, but can only be implemented successfully in a consensus with the business and scientific communities."
The project entitled "Intelligent restructuring of the energy supply" implements the Federal Government's new energy research programme. New emphases, clear priorities and more funding in strategically important fields, especially for the topics of "storage facilities" and "grids", are to help speed up the energy reforms.
The "Sustainable mobility" project aims to use the very latest technologies and processes, so that mobility can remain attractive and affordable as a key factor of Germany's economy. The focus is particularly on speeding up the development of electric mobility. This is being done for example by promoting new demonstration projects, such as the showcase and beacon projects announced in the government's electric mobility programme. The long-term aim is to be able to dispense with fossil fuels.
The "Internet-based business services" project brings commerce and science together to work on the provision of new forms of online high-value services. The internet is increasingly emerging as a hub for the supply and demand of services. German firms can benefit from this even more than they have so far. Here, "cloud computing" and "grid computing" can provide the technological foundation.
The "Industry 4.0" project gives German industry the opportunity to actively shape the fourth industrial revolution. The internet is bringing the real and virtual worlds closer together into an "internet of things". In future, it will be possible to monitor and optimally steer entire value chains, almost in real time, particularly with a view to conserving resources and boosting energy efficiency.
