Attractive location for business between Hamburg and Denmark

WTSH-Online editorial team: The Hansebelt is home to many companies in the industries of the future. Which industry is particularly well represented and what makes the region so attractive? 

Lars Schöning: The healthcare sector is particularly strong in the Hansebelt region. Leading this industry are industrial medical-device makers and in vitro diagnostics. Life sciences research also has a strong foundation in the Hansebelt, with the University of Lübeck, which has a focus on medicine; the TH Lübeck technical college, which offers training in medical technology; two Fraunhofer facilities for medical technology and for medical imaging analysis; and the Lübeck laboratory of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Overall, the regional academia offers prime conditions for industry, e.g. when attracting university graduates or applying R&D projects efficiently. One important and special feature is the established Life Science Nord industry cluster. This network, run jointly by the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, organises work groups on issues such as patient data usage, special regulatory requirements facing the medical technology industry and internationalisation. The companies in the network include qualified suppliers such as Hein & Oetting Feinwerktechnik GmbH in Ahrensburg and Logica Medizintechnik in Oldenburg in Holstein as well as European and global players such as Almirall in Reinbek, Johnson & Johnson in Norderstedt as well as Dräger and Euroimmun in Lübeck. The high density of patient care facilities also contributes to the Hansebelt’s appeal. Beyond the numerous specialised clinics, there is the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein operating from its campuses in Kiel and Lübeck, forming one of Germany’s largest hospitals and a pioneer in healthcare digitalisation. It is increasingly using artificial intelligence to analyse healthcare data for the development of new diagnosis and treatment methods, which makes for an additional location advantage for the region’s healthcare sector.

WTSH-Online editorial team: So, put simply, optimal conditions for business. What makes the Hansebelt particularly attractive as a place for living and working? 

Lars Schöning: In short, you have sun, beach and sea, and all of that close by the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. The Hansebelt is an extremely attractive place for living and working, and it captivates thanks to its unique combination of nature, culture and academic heterogeneity. The region’s economy is characterised by a large number of companies in the digital, food, mechanical engineering, logistics, tourism and life sciences sectors. Well-known brands such as Schwartauer Werke and edding as well as local heroes such as VisiConsult and SLM are based in the region. The Hansebelt is generally marked by its strong SME presence, especially in the mechanical and plant engineering industry. Meanwhile, HanseBelt e.V. is a vibrant business network. It connects companies in more than 40 industries to offer an outstanding platform for cooperation and innovation. Another highlight is the extremely well-developed fibre optic network which provides optimal conditions for digital communication and connection. On top of that, the availability of renewable energy is a major asset for our location, and the region also has an extensive and varied offering of arts and culture as well as numerous recreation precincts. Water sports enthusiasts will find that the Hansebelt has ideal conditions for surfing, kite flying, sailing and paddling. 

WTSH-Online editorial team: The connection between academia and business plays a major role in innovation. Does the Hansebelt offer anything special for this?  

Lars Schöning: There exist large numbers of services and formats to continually bring together academia and business in an active way. For example, there is the Hanse Innovation Campus Tour, where business owners gain targeted insights into Lübeck’s research laboratories. Another project is the GATEWAY49 hub, which has its main base in the capital city Lübeck. It is a start-up hub located in Multifunction Centre 8 at the Lübeck Technology Centre, supporting innovative ideas and establishing a start-up ecosystem in Germany’s north. It provides teams with a comprehensive co-working space and a great sense of community, while also serving as the central venue for the diverse workshop programme. The GATEWAY49 start-up accelerator was established in 2020 in cooperation between the Lübeck Technology Centre, the Lübeck Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the company glocal consult, and has already propelled more than 54 start-ups. Beyond that, there is much on offer to connect business and academia in the Hansebelt. Both sectors work as partners to keep creating new formats and services that foster exchange for the region. 

WTSH-Online editorial team: A hot topic right now: the Fehmarn Belt fixed link. What expectations/challenges is the region going to face because of it?  

Lars Schöning: The fixed link is going to close a gap in the transport corridor from northern Sweden to southern Italy. Businesses expect that the shorter travel time to Scandinavia and closer connections, especially of Denmark and Sweden to central Europe, will be a significant boost to the region’s locational qualities. The Hansebelt is the link in the chain between the major cities of Hamburg and Copenhagen/Malmö. Lübeck, as the largest city between Hamburg and Copenhagen as well as an established transport hub (A1/A20 motorways, port, airport and rail routes to Hamburg, Kiel, Lüneburg, Bad Kleinen and Denmark), will be the centre of a cross-border Fehmarn Belt region. For the Hansebelt, it will be vitally important to build a profile as an attractive place to do business in the Hamburg metropolitan region and in Denmark. In doing so, it will avoid becoming a transit spot between the major cities. The Hansebelt speaks for itself thanks to its food and life sciences sectors, and increasingly also AI, tourism and logistics. However, until the tunnel opens, there are a few challenges that need to be managed, including above all the transport infrastructure: the construction of road and rail connections in the Ostholstein district with the Fehmarn Sound tunnel, the construction of power transmission routes which are an additional burden on some local authorities, the general overhaul of the Hamburg–Lübeck railway and the rail electrification from Lübeck to Bad Kleinen. These challenges are certain to require some hard work from the region.