Within the topic area of ​​production, the innovation field "Innovative Materials & Intelligent Production" is addressed. This deals with innovations that aim to develop new materials and optimize production processes, thus creating the foundation for the products of tomorrow's markets.

With nearly 130,000 companies, the manufacturing sector is responsible for over 2.1 million jobs in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). This central role is also reflected in NRW's cluster landscape. As drivers of innovation, Chemie.NRW, SPIN NRW, It's OWL , and Produktion.NRW are core components of NRW's mission to become the most innovative, modern, climate-friendly, and environmentally sustainable industrial location in Europe.

Behind the theme of mobility lies the innovation field of "Connected Mobility and Logistics." This aims to combine different modes of transport as seamlessly as possible in intelligent and interconnected transport chains, according to their respective strengths. The goal is to develop a safe, sustainable, economically viable, and reliable mobility system for the future.

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has been Germany's leading logistics hub for years and, thanks in particular to its strong supplier industry, is also a key component of the German automotive sector. The clusters automotiveland.NRW, innocam.NRW, and Logistik.NRW , with their focus on the structural transformation of the automotive and logistics industries, are emblematic of NRW's mobility sector.

The environmental theme focuses on the innovation field of "Environmental Economics and Circular Economy." This aims to promote the resource-efficient and effective use of products in North Rhine-Westphalia. The industrial hub of North Rhine-Westphalia should distinguish itself through industrial and scientific centers of expertise for all aspects of a sustainable (circular) economy and unlock the potential of a growing environmental economy.

With approximately 319,000 people employed in the environmental sector, representing 4.7% of total employment, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is the largest provider of environmental products and services in Germany. The innovative strength of the environmental sector, which develops 4.6 patents per 1,000 employees annually, is highlighted by the clusters Competence Network Environmental Economy.NRW, Bio.NRW, NRW.Energy4Climate , and the Efficiency Agency NRW .

The topic area of ​​energy addresses the innovation field of "Energy and Innovative Building". This aims to create an intelligent and integrated energy system that links the areas of electricity, heating/cooling and mobility across sectors and is characterized by renewable energies.

The driving force behind the energy and heat transition, besides the nearly 90,000 companies in the energy and construction industries, are research institutions, universities, clusters and initiatives such as NRW.Energy4Climate and the Energy Research Offensive.NRW.

The health-related theme revolves around the innovation field of "Innovative Medicine, Health and Life Science". This aims to create new procedures, techniques and methods as drivers of innovation for the health industry, healthcare and healthy nutrition.

Building on North Rhine-Westphalia's strong starting position thanks to its high-performing science and research infrastructure, the project aims to develop innovative solutions in collaboration with specialized companies and further expand North Rhine-Westphalia's pioneering role in the digitalization of the healthcare sector. The Medizin.NRW a central role as an intermediary, transforming research findings into innovative products.

Behind the theme of creativity lies the innovation field of "Culture, Media and Creative Industries and Innovative Services". This aims to make the best possible use of the innovation potential from the diverse creative environments and companies in North Rhine-Westphalia, to identify new value creation opportunities and thus to secure an attractive, "smart" location for media and creative professionals.

With over 50,000 companies and annual revenues of around €40 billion, the creative industries are a key driver of economic growth. Furthermore, at the network level, CREATIVE.NRW an essential contribution to the creative innovation ecosystem in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In the Technology section, you will find content on the innovation field of "Key Technologies of the Future, ICT." As a cross-cutting area, this serves as a think tank and source of inspiration for the other innovation fields. New technologies provide solutions to global challenges and are therefore of central importance to all industries and sectors.

Here you will find an overview of the key technologies of North Rhine-Westphalia and the clusters that pursue them: