The field of specialization “Industrial production and systems” is a mainstay of the Thuringian economy. With its growing markets and numerous activities playing out across a wide range of industries, this field accounts for almost half of Thuringia’s manufacturing output.

Going forward, the manufacture of customized products will play an increasingly critical role. Particularly vital in this context will be the ability to access efficient and flexible technologies and to optimally configure the associated processes and their integration into the respective systems.

Thuringia boasts a long tradition and excellent track record in the field of automobile manufacturing. Today, the Free State serves as a central hub for the industry, being within easy logistical reach of all the automakers in Germany and throughout Europe. In addition to some major players, it is the flexible, medium-sized automotive enterprises that are currently driving growth in this economic sector. By now, their wide-ranging technological expertise and advanced products can be found in practically every vehicle produced worldwide.

The healthcare sector is one of Thuringia’s strongest drivers of employment and growth and has already become an exceptionally important component of the regional economy. The social and environmental demand for products and services in this area will only grow in the future, not least in light of demographic developments.

The field of innovation “Sustainable energy supply and resource management” encompasses the activities pursued in the areas of renewable energy, regional energy-supply strategies, energy storage, resource management, and recycling.  Numerous players in the economy (e.g. product manufacturers, plant engineering firms or service providers) are active in this field, who occupy special niches or offer a broad portfolio of services as market leaders or technology leaders. Thuringia’s landscape of outstanding academic and extra-mural research institutions, along with its highly effective networking and consultancy structures, offers ideal conditions for knowledge sharing that bridges the gap between research and practical application.  This in turn lays the groundwork for developing the technologies of the future.

As part of the structural shift to a service society and the digitalization of nearly all aspects of daily life, the rapid, mobile exchange of information has established itself as a key growth factor. Ever since the 1990s, information and communication technologies have increasingly impacted society, both at the workplace as well as in the private sphere. According to data from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, Federal Ministry of Education and Research), more than 80% of the innovations made in Germany’s key economic sectors are based on advances in the field of information & communication technology (ICT).  The structural shift towards services has resulted in more and more providers of creative services now making their own contributions to innovation, be they product characteristics or whole new business models. This interplay between creativity and technical advances may give rise to entirely new markets, new smart services being just one example.