futureSAX Innovation Forum October 29, 2019 in Freiberg

Montanunion Erzgebirge: Research and Innovation with Tradition

The UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site of the Ore Mountains and the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg stand for a centuries-old tradition of innovation, which is constantly opening up new fields of application from the fields of business and science and thus decisively shaping this future field in Saxony. For this reason Freiberg is also the best place with many points of contact for the orientation of the futureSAX innovation forum, said Marina Heimann, managing director of futureSAX GmbH, in her welcoming address.

Core task for the future: sector coupling across different industries

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Meyer, Director of the Institute for Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering at the Technical University of Freiberg, explained in his emphatic keynote speech the challenges that the energy and raw materials turnaround poses to the economy and society. At the same time, he pointed out which technical solutions already exist to link different industries and sectors in the future in order to achieve greater efficiency. Prof. Meyer was available for an Interview (German only) on his topic in advance.

Keynote speeches & animated discussions in the panels

Afterwards, the three moderators of the theme workshops, Philipp Büttner (Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology), Karl Lötsch (Innovation Cluster HZwo), Mark Richter (Fraunhofer IWU), were given the floor one after the other to present the theme workshops and the theses to be discussed in keynote speeches.

In the following rounds of talks, experts from science and industry discussed with the guests of the thematic workshops the areas of new raw material cycles, new sources of raw materials and efficient production. In the Thematic Workshop on New Raw Material Cycles, the extent to which the demand for raw materials can and must be met sustainably from domestic sources was discussed.  The link to other industries is reflected in the discussion of the Thematic Workshop on New Raw Material Sources. Here it was discussed how the Saxon economy has to position itself in order to ensure competitiveness in the future with regard to materials and processes in the field of fuel cell technology.

The participants took advantage of the subsequent coffee break to exchange views on the results of the first round, to network, but also to inform themselves about offers from the futureSAX innovation exchange. The guests visited the various exhibitors to find out about new technologies or cooperation possibilities.

In the second round, the guests also received many impulses from the discussions with the experts. The theme workshop on efficient production took up the general credo of sector coupling. Whether raw material or energy source: the comprehensive coupling is necessary in order to be not only sustainable, but above all competitive in the future.

Saxony has great potential

The event was rounded off by a joint get-together. With a good meal there was enough time to make new contacts and find cooperation partners from other areas. What synergies and projects will develop from the discussions? One can be curious!