Where the future takes shape: Germany’s innovation engine rooms present themselves at re:publica 2026

From climate-neutral industry and new mobility solutions to global health research: Germany’s innovation clusters are developing the ideas that will shape our society tomorrow. At re:publica 2026, the cluster and campus initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) will, for the first time, jointly showcase their success stories.

The PROXIDRUGS Cluster, based at Goethe University Frankfurt, is developing innovative drugs that can selectively degrade disease-relevant proteins. This strategy could also make it possible to address the roughly 80% of proteins that are considered unreachable using conventional approaches.

This development is not an isolated case, but the expression of a system. At re:publica 2026, Germany’s innovation clusters will make their success stories visible because, while much is being discussed about Germany’s capacity for innovation, innovation is already happening — in the country’s innovation clusters.

Clusters are the workshops of transformation: this is where scientific excellence becomes concrete application. They connect disciplines, pool expertise and create the conditions for turning ideas into solutions.

From 18 to 20 May 2026, 22 cluster and campus initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) will present themselves together for the first time at re:publica in Berlin under the guiding theme “Germany’s Innovation Engine Room”.

The aim is to show how innovation is created in Germany in concrete terms — from new medicines and energy-efficient AI to hydrogen technologies and new mobility concepts.

The joint stand invites visitors to exchange ideas with cluster managers and offers insights into specific projects and success stories from across Germany. The presence will be complemented by a stage format on 19 May from 11:15 to 11:45 on the re:publica main stage, where representatives from politics and the clusters will present Germany as an innovation hub and interconnected system.

Interested visitors and journalists are invited to arrange meetings and interviews with representatives of the cluster and campus initiatives in advance and at the re:publica trade fair stand in Hall 3, Stand M2.

About the BMFTR Cluster and Campus Initiatives

The BMFTR cluster and campus initiatives bring together scientific excellence, economic strength and societal perspectives. Together, they form Germany’s innovation engine room and help translate research into application and impact more quickly.

Represented at re:publica are 14 Clusters4Future: CNATM, curATime, ETOS, MCube, nanodiag BW, NeuroSys, Ocean Technology Campus Rostock, PROXIDRUGS, QSense, QVLS-iLabs, SaxoCell, SEMECO, SupplHyInnoRhineland and ThWIC; in addition, the four Research Campuses ARENA2036, FEN, Mobility2Grid and OHLF; as well as four former Leading-Edge Clusters: Bavarian Biotech Cluster Development BioM, BioEconomy Cluster, bioRN Life Science Cluster and Cluster Electric Mobility South-West.