With the support of the EU program "Digital Europe", a nationwide network of digital innovation centers, called European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH), is to be established in the European Union. Saxony successfully applied to become a European Digital Innovation Hub. The European Digital Innovation Hub Saxony bundles the competencies of four Saxon institutions. Members of the consortium are the Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig, the Smart Systems Hub Dresden, simul⁺InnovationHub of the State Ministry for Regional Development and, as coordinator, InfAI - Institute for Applied Informatics. For the next three years, the EU will fund the project with about 2.3 million euros.

The insurer Signal-Iduna wants to achieve climate neutrality by 2040. A big step in this direction is already being taken: Signal-Iduna is acquiring Europe's largest solar park for a mid-three-digit million sum. "We don't just talk about sustainability, we act," says Ulrich Leitermann, CEO of the Signal-Iduna Group. Since 2020, Signal - Iduna is a premium partner of SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator.

Our cities and regions are facing huge challenges: The ongoing economic transformation, the necessity to cut greenhouse gas emissions or ensuring mobility in remote areas are some examples. However, we are convinced that by working together and by using smart solutions we can shape a bright future.

How this “smart future” will look like at our international simul+ forum "SMART CITIES, SMART REGIONS". The Latin word „simul“ means „together“ and the forum is part of a journey where the participants work together to achieve common goals aiming at digitalised climate-friendly urban-rural development.

Autonomous driving is thus considered a great opportunity for rural public transport, as driverless operation can save enormous costs.In order to fully integrate minibuses that have been converted for automated driving into the local public transport system, a number of requirements must be fulfilled. The technologies required for this on the part of the vehicle and infrastructure are being developed in the Saxon innovation project ABSOLUT.

2022 the City of Leipzig enters the second round with the organisation of the innovation competition with the title „Smart City Challenge Leipzig“ powered by Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig. Founders, startups, students and established ventures are called to find innovative digital solutions for predetermined questions and challenges in the areas of civil society and municipal administration.

The joint project LHyVE (Leipzig Hydrogen Value chain for Europe) aims to establish an intelligent and regionally networked green hydrogen system as a lighthouse for efficient sector coupling and to integrate it into the emerging European hydrogen infrastructure. With LHyVE, the entire value chain from production, storage, transport and distribution to final consumption is to be realized in the Leipzig region. SpinLab partner Leipziger Gruppe, ONTRAS and EDL Anlagenbau with many more players such as VNG (also SpinLab partner), Siemens Energy, BMW Group Werk Leipzig, Fraunhofer are involved in this project.

Photo credits: LHyVE

An economy without emissions of greenhouse gases within the next 30 years - that is Europe's declared goal in order to stop climate change. This requires a major change from today onwards. Renewable energies are to replace fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. In the course of the sustainable transformation of energy supply, hydrogen will play a key role.

Hydrogen is the energy industry's beacon of hope. It is already used as a fuel in buses, trains and cars. Europe's first hydrogen-powered streetcar is now to be built in Leipzig.

The streetcar manufacturer HeiterBlick GmbH in Leipzig, together with its partners, receives funding of 2.1 million euros from the federal government for the construction of the first prototype.The company itself is investing an additional 3 million in development and production and plans to create 40 new jobs at the Plagwitz site.

Up to ten developers will be tinkering with the streetcar at Leipzig-based Heiterblick GmbH. The first prototypes are expected to roll through the cities in four years. The vision: streetcars without overhead lines and CO2 emissions – instead, a streetcar powered by fuel cells. The new drive technology is intended to help reduce infrastructure costs and CO² emissions and to reach parts of the city that previously had no streetcar connection.

Charging many electric cars at the same time intimidates skeptics of electromobility, as they fear this might lead to frequent blackouts. Recently, GISA and Audi announced that they found a clear response to the gloomy scenario in a model test in Chemnitz: Intelligent and grid-serving charging reduces the load on the power grid and can thus help to further increase acceptance of electromobility.

Dresden as well-known location for micro- and nanoelectronics and the highly recognized TU Dresden has initiated several R&D projects starting in 2000, which digitally connect the different traffic detectors, traffic control and traffic guidance systems of the state capital. The provided information is collected in a traffic data center. The traffic control is thus fully automatic, with optional manual interventions by operators in the control center of city administration.