Technology & Innovation Summit 2023

What do you think are the most promising future technologies?

"Artificial intelligence, especially in combination with cloud technology, opens up new opportunities in almost all industries and application areas."

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Which success factors are essential for future-oriented companies?

"In the real estate industry, people always like to say: location, location, location. For forward-looking companies, I think it's talent, talent, talent. This includes hiring, developing, and challenging the right people, combined with a culture of constant change and the right amount of curiosity and openness to technology."

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How should companies position themselves to be able to derive added value from data, but also protect it at the same time?

"Many companies do not even know what data they have and what possibilities exist to create added value for their company from this data. Modern cloud technologies offer security, sovereignty, innovative data analysis, and AI platforms, as well as scalability and sustainability to tackle digital transformation in a low-threshold manner."

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What distinguishes Munich as a business location for you?

"It is a combination of world-class universities and companies, top talent, an active and innovative startup scene, political support e.g. with the High-Tech Agenda, and a very high quality of life."

What has made you particularly proud of C2C NGO so far?

"We founded the NGO in Lüneburg in 2012. A lot has happened since then: We moved to Berlin, built our head office, education center and C2C real lab with the C2C LAB, and grew to a team of almost 40 employees. Seeing this development makes me proud. At the same time, however, there is still a lot to do: We work every day to make Cradle to Cradle even better known and to drive a change in thinking in business and society."

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Are sustainable companies less successful than others?

“In our current economic system, it is more worthwhile for companies to destroy the environment and exploit resources and people than to produce really good, healthy products. This is because profits are privatized, while follow-up costs resulting from wasted resources, polluted nature, or waste disposal are borne by society. If prices reflect reality, products, and services that are good for our livelihoods and economies will succeed.”

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What are currently the greatest challenges for manufacturing companies to act in the spirit of the circular economy?

“Many political framework conditions, such as misguided subsidies, are still making the transformation to a cradle-to-cradle circular economy more difficult today.

But this must not be an excuse for companies: We need initiative from business, politics, and society to achieve a truly circular economy.”

Are machine builders a phase-out model?

"The traditional approach of machine builders is increasingly limited in meeting producers' essential needs. Next-gen machine builders are tech companies that fully comprehend the complexity of the production environment, both physical and digital. They can define the value proposition based on TCO principles of the whole production environment."

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What role does data play in the future of production?

"Integrated machine and production data are essential for desirable production performance quality, flexibility, and sustainability. In advanced production settings, machines are no longer isolated, individually controlled entities. Instead, they function as active components within a well-orchestrated production ecosystem that actively safeguards the Total Costs of Production."

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Is "innovation through cooperation" the secret for business success?

“Innovation through cooperation and well-established ecosystems has become the only way for companies to keep up with new technology and value proposition developments. Given the speed and complexity of technological advancements, it's no longer a task for a single company, regardless of its size or market position.”

In your opinion, what are approaches to ensure data is recognized and treated as a 'valuable asset' within an organization, and how crucial is fostering 'data literacy' among staff in this context?

“Data literacy is key for people to understand that without good quality data, there will not be a good quality data product. Just like books are not valued by illiterate people, data will not be valued in the same way if people do not understand the importance of good-quality data. This is a key challenge to solve for transforming into a data-driven organization.”

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How do you believe that data-driven competitiveness can drive forward a sustainable vision?

“By leveraging the data available in a structured manner, it becomes easier and less time-consuming for the data-driven enterprise to find ways to optimize energy efficiency and consumption, reduce pollution and, from a regulatory point of view, adhere to e.g., the carbon reporting requirements. This ensures that even ambitious sustainability targets can be met in time.”

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What are according to you the upcoming trends in regards to data governance?

“I believe that there will be a stronger push on regulations of data & AI, with impacts on the way we collect, treat, store and share data. At the same time, there is no hiding from data at any level in an organization anymore, and there will be a huge effort necessary on matching the available knowledge at any level with the required knowledge, resulting in up-/re-skilling activities.”

Why are you passionate about introducing sustainability in business practice?

“My personal answer: I want to help safeguard a livable world for my grandchildren and their children.

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My professional answer: Sustainable development in essence is a pathway to a world in which “all people live well in the limits of the planet.”

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In order to get there, we – humanity – need to change our economics. The United Nations Agenda 2030 guides us through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on that way. All companies can and should contribute to reach these goals."

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What can and should companies contribute?

“In my view, an important step for companies is to rethink the business purpose along the “four Ps”:

• ‍Planet: Which (natural) resources do we use? How can we take responsibility for their regeneration?‍
• People: Which impacts do our business practices have on society at large and our local community?‍
• Profit/Prosperity: Which value do we deliver to our customers and other stakeholder groups?‍
• Person: Which impact do my daily professional and personal decisions have?”

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Which challenges have you faced since you started to work on sustainability in business?

“When I started to work on sustainability as an innovation driver at Philips back in 2006 the general belief was that sustainability is a “cost driver” not a “value creator”.

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Nowadays research shows that sustainability-oriented companies are more resilient than others, especially in times of crisis. Next to this, today many people still put sustainable development as synonymous with environmental protection. This shows a massive capacity gap.

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In my view, the biggest challenge today is the broadly missing sense of the urgency to act.”

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How should business leaders start, especially those of small and medium enterprises?

“The transformation towards a more sustainable economic system is happening right now. New legislation like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) manifests this.

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There are three starting points that I would recommend to newcomers:

• Invest in capacity building: Sustainable business practice comes along with a new technical language, new KPIs, and new expert networks.
• Take stock of your status quo: Identify relevant topics for your company, nominate a responsible person, and examine your processes and activities through the ESG lens.
• Set realistic goals and consider: The transformation to sustainable economics is a marathon, not a sprint.”

What are the biggest challenges in sharing data?

“Data sharing is riddled with challenges, both legal and technical. We often grapple with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and Export Control. Technical hurdles include handling vast data volumes, the need for robust computing power, and the diversity of data sources.

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But beyond these, a strategy often holds us back. In manufacturing, we have different data owners who need to collaborate, such as raw material providers, machine makers, and producers. Not sharing data can shield trade secrets and sometimes the transparency that can be created with data is not wanted.

Data is seen as a critical resource to create value in the future. Most companies are still exploring how to do so.”

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Learning across factories etc. - how is that possible?

“We've enabled cross-factory learning by mobilizing our ML algorithm, deploying it directly within each factory. Instead of sharing raw data, which might contain sensitive information, we keep it localized within the factory. What gets shared across factories is the knowledge and insights the algorithm extracts from the shop floor. This way, factories can learn from each other without compromising data security.”

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What role will the AI Act play in terms of data sharing?

“The AI Act aims to build trust in AI systems. It will set rules around who owns data and who can access it in certain situations. Plus, it promotes tools that let us gain insights from data without revealing the actual data. So, we can share the good things we learn from data but keep the specifics private.”

What links technology and innovation for you?

“Technology and innovation are symbiotic drivers of progress. Technology opens doors and creates opportunities, while innovation leverages those opportunities to create tangible value.

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While technology sets the framework, innovation enables the realization of that potential. They are like the hardware and software of a system: technology provides the platform, innovation provides the applications that transform our lives and our business world.”

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Which 3 innovation topics are currently the most important for the German industry?

• ‍“Digital Twin and Industrial Metaverse: Creating digital images of physical assets and systems allows companies to monitor, analyze and optimize processes in real-time. This goes hand in hand with the concept of the "Industrial Metaverse," where virtual and physical worlds merge to create improved production environments. ‍
• Sustainable production: In response to growing global environmental demands, German companies are increasingly focusing on green technologies and sustainable production processes.‍
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation: Progress in AI and robotics are enabling significant process optimization, product improvement and personalized customer experience.”

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How important is corporate venturing for the German industry?

“Those days of innovation theater are over. For the German industry, the focus is on corporate venturing to foster real, measurable innovation and bring it to market. It's no longer just about creating the appearance of innovation but implementing effective venturing approaches.

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In addition, the focus is shifting to end-to-end innovation processes and systems that ensure consistent and systematic implementation of innovations from idea to market. In this context, corporate venturing serves as a key strategy to remain competitive in a constantly changing market.”

Where do you see the strengths of Munich as an innovation hub?

“Munich is characterized by a unique ecosystem: It has a first-class knowledge and research landscape, a large number of innovation and startup centers, established global corporations and medium-sized companies, as well as innovative startups. This results in a unique environment for knowledge exchange, research, cooperation and, above all, innovation.

Our goal as an economic development agency is to further promote this networking and exchange within the Munich innovation ecosystem.”

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Is it possible to innovate faster or more successfully in Munich than in other locations?

“Our ecosystem offers the best conditions to advance innovations quickly and successfully, thanks to a significantly higher proportion of knowledge-intensive and research-driven companies than the national average, as well as globally renowned universities.

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We as the economic development agency, work every day to further expand these excellent conditions for innovation. This specifically means that we provide platforms and networks for exchange among all stakeholders in the ecosystem, such as our Munich Urban Colab, our own innovation competitions, our portals Munich Business and Munich Startup, as well as free consultation services on all topics related to entrepreneurship, crowdfunding, sustainable business practices, and much more.”

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Given the shortage of skilled workers and high costs, how can Munich remain an attractive innovation hub for SMEs in the future?

“Certainly, we not only support startups but also companies looking for a location and those already based here – through consultation, for example, regarding energy efficiency in business or finding suitable commercial properties.

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We also have the advantage that Munich, with its unique innovation ecosystem and exceptionally high quality of life, attracts not only innovative companies but also talent from around the world.”

Toni Drescher is an experienced engineer and entrepreneur who has been involved in the implementation of technology-based innovations for the past 20 years. He gained practical experience in various leading management and consulting positions. He set up and commercialized new companies for several cutting-edge products and services and stands for the successful implementation of innovations. As the owner and CEO of the INC Innovation Center Group, he focuses on implementing and scaling innovations from idea to market launch to secure growth opportunities and competitiveness of large enterprises.

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Dr. Myron Graw has 15 years of experience in the field of advanced technology consultancy. He held over 100 trainings about digitalization, hydrogen, and sustainability and was involved in more than 200 specific technology consultancy projects all around the globe. As an Executive Director of the business unit Sustainability at the INC Innovation Center and Managing Director of the Center Fuel Cell Industrialization FCI at RWTH Aachen Campus, he aims to support companies driving innovation and transforming towards an intelligent and sustainable future.

Dr. Stefan Thomas has over 15 years of experience in various functions in the manufacturing industry, including as CDO and managing director of an innovation lab of a German family-owned company with 20,000 employees. Today he leads the Products and Ventures team and supports corporate start-ups in various functions. He is an expert in digital transformation, the development of new products, services, and business models, and the establishment of corporate innovation units and start-ups in various industries.

Anne Loos is a dedicated business leader in the manufacturing industry, passionately driving growth and innovation. With extensive expertise in advanced AI and digital transformation, coupled with over 14 years of hands-on experience in pioneering technologies, she implements strategies to sustainably strengthen companies' competitiveness. Through successfully diversifying international business, creating new business models, and crafting customer-centric strategies, she has established herself as a trusted partner. Her global impact extends to significant data-driven projects on a global scale.

Patrick Kabasci is helping companies innovate in the context of Industry 4.0 for more than 10 years. He supports manufacturing companies to set up digital innovation units rated amongst the top performers in Germany focused on delivering disruptive scalable innovation and the implementation of Industry 4.0. He has advised over 100 companies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific in setting up Industry 4.0 strategies and roadmaps. At Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, he has been part of one of the first international benchmarks on global framework conditions for Industry 4.0 with a significant impact on the further development of the trend.

Tim Schroeder studied Electrical Engineering & Information Technology as well as Business Administration and General Management at RWTH Aachen University. As the Head of Artificial Intelligence at the INC Innovation Center, he led multiple bilateral and multilateral projects in the areas of Industry 4.0, Logistics 4.0, and Artificial Intelligence. Through technology scouting, data analysis, and AI assessments, he assists companies in successfully implementing new innovations.