Political alliance for more startups: Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse join forces with Futury — The Future Factory
- Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse are together setting an example for new and young companies and, with support from politics, science and business, are strengthening the Future Factory as a central start-up platform in the Rhine-Main area.
- With its scientific strength, historical innovative strength and Johannes Gutenberg University, the state capital Mainz is positioning itself as an ideal hub in the future ecosystem.
- Futury has the ambitious goal of producing 1,000 new startups by 2030.
Mainz, April 03, 2025 — The Mayor of Mainz Nino Haase and Holger Follmann, Chairman of the Honorary Board of Trustees of the Values Foundation and Startup Representative of the State of Hesse, have invited to Mainz for a transnational exchange on April 1, 2025 — to support Futury — The Future Factory, the innovation center for startups in the Rhine-Main region. The aim of the meeting is to strengthen the dialogue between Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse and to further expand the Future Factory innovation network.
Top-class support for the Future Factory
In addition to other top-class representatives from industry, science and politics, the guests include Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economics of Rhineland-Palatinate, Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, Minister of Digital Affairs of the State of Hesse, Umut Sönmez, State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport, Housing and Rural Affairs, Prof. Dr. Georg Krausch, President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Prof. Dr. Tanja Brühl, President of TU Darmstadt and Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz, President of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. The two managing directors of Futury Charlie N. Müller and Melissa Ott are delighted with so much support from politics: “The Future Factory thrives on cooperation — across disciplines, industries and national borders. Today's meeting shows how great the common interest is not only in promoting young entrepreneurial ideas, but also in bringing them to society in a sustainable way. ”
“Futury as a Future Factory stands for exactly what we want to strengthen in Rhineland-Palatinate: a networked start-up culture with close ties to science, business and society. The exchange in Mainz is a strong sign of transnational cooperation and entrepreneurial departure. For this reason, I am pleased to take over the patronage of this promising project,” emphasizes Minister President Alexander Schweitzer and continues: “Rhineland-Palatinate state politics are providing clear impetus for a successful start-up landscape with targeted support structures and funding programs such as the Rhineland-Palatinate Startup Action Plan. We focus on continuously improving the framework conditions for startups, reducing hurdles and promoting pioneering innovations. With measures to secure skilled workers, a strong STEM strategy and a close network of science, business and startups, we offer a strong ecosystem that sustainably supports founders and drives innovations forward. ”
Minister of Economic Affairs Daniela Schmitt emphasizes: “Especially from an economic perspective, we need to focus more on the topic of startups and entrepreneurship. Startups are not only an indicator of our innovative strength — they also decisively shape the economic dynamism of our region. Because it is often precisely these young companies that are already working today on solutions for tomorrow's challenges. ”
Mainz as an ideal hub in the ecosystem
As a Gutenberg city with historic innovative strength and a strong scientific foundation, Mainz is predestined for the further development of Futury — The Future Factory. Lord Mayor Nino Haase underlines: “Mainz was already the epicenter of a global wave of innovation — with Gutenberg's revolutionary book printing. Today, we are facing new technological upheavals, for example through artificial intelligence and biotechnology. With the Future Factory, we are creating a platform on which today's ideas can be turned into tomorrow's breakthroughs — in close cooperation with our neighbors from Hesse. ”
The state capital symbolizes the transfer of disruptive ideas into society. One example is BioNTech — an internationally recognized success model that comes from university medicine at Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) emerged. JGU is part of the Futury ecosystem, whose members work together to transfer start-up ideas and research results into practice more quickly.
In future, JGU will also issue a founder certificate, which provides students of all disciplines with entrepreneurial skills, in line with an interdisciplinary entrepreneurial spirit. Prof. Dr. Georg Krausch, President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, underlines the potential of the partnership with Futury: “We want to promote start-ups from all disciplines — whether from medicine, natural sciences, computer science or the humanities. JGU's new founder certificate lays the foundation for this and ideally complements the Future Factory. ”
The Future Factory as a platform for innovation and impact
The focus is on bridging national borders: The Future Factory sees itself as a platform with strong regional roots and international appeal.
“It is precisely in exchange between federal states that the best ideas arise. Mainz is the perfect place for this, as it brings together the scientific landscape, innovative spirit and spirit of optimism. We want to inspire more companies and personalities about the innovative strength and start-up potential in and from the region — because only together can we create sustainable impulses and shape a vibrant future,” concludes Melissa Ott.
