Embracing more High-Tech in Germany: The Launch of the High-Tech Agenda on October 29, 2025, in Berlin

“As of today, the High-Tech Agenda Germany is no longer just an agenda for the federal government, but for the entire country,” said Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space (translated from German), as she kicked off the implementation of the High-Tech Agenda Germany at the launch event on 29 October 2025 in Berlin. Over 800 representatives from business, science and politics from all over Germany gathered at the Berlin Gasometer to express their interest in helping shape the research and innovation landscape. More than 200 interested people followed the events via livestream.

The High-Tech Agenda Germany aims to make ‘Made in Germany’ the hallmark of our country once again. Germany should be at the forefront of international competition and dare to make more progress, especially in key technologies. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised the ambitious approach of the Federal Government: "We believe our country can be a leader in innovation and remain a leading industrial nation in the 21st century. We will not achieve this without effort." (translated from German) Our excellent research must strengthen the economy even more in order to maintain prosperity and security in Germany. The federal government is setting the direction with its investments in key technologies, but the success of Germany's high-tech agenda will depend on pooling our strengths at all levels. Bär also emphasised this in her speech with the call: “Together, we will make the Federal Republic of Germany the High-Tech Republic of Germany.” (translated from German)

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The High-Tech Agenda Germany realigns the federal government's research, technology and innovation policy, effectively involving stakeholders from science, industry, politics and society. All of them can contribute their strengths and insights to the development of the High-Tech Agenda, including the various federal ministries and their research institutions, universities and non-university research institutions, industry and civil society actors, federal states and the EU. With this participatory approach, the High-Tech Agenda Germany aims to facilitate continuous dialogue between researchers, founders and industry, enabling relevant breakthroughs in research and on the market.

Closer cooperation with the European Union is also being sought. Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation, signalled her support for the goals of the High-Tech Agenda Germany at the event. With this in mind, Germany will work together with the European Union to increase strategic investment, simplify funding systems, introduce new legislative initiatives and promote cross-border cooperation. Ekaterina Zaharieva emphasised at the event: “Together with initiatives such as the High-Tech Agenda, we are building a Europe in which innovation thrives – open, confident, sustainable and value-based.”

In addition to expert discussions on Germany's opportunities and challenges on its way to becoming a leading technology location and the innovative instruments and political framework conditions required for this, the kick-off event also focused specifically on key technologies. These technologies are of substantial importance for the economic development of our country and have the potential to create new markets and initiate innovations for numerous industries and applications: artificial intelligence, microelectronics and quantum technologies, biotechnology, fusion and climate-neutral energy generation, and technologies for climate-neutral mobility. The research efforts and investments in these technologies are already correspondingly large. The rapid path from research to applications and products ‘Made in Germany’ and their commercialisation for Germany and Europe is a central goal for increasing competitiveness and sovereignty.

Representatives of renowned research institutions, institutes, associations, large corporations, medium-sized companies and start-ups, as well as federal and state ministries, therefore discussed the need for action and the objectives of the individual key technologies in six parallel breakout sessions, thus setting the first milestone in the roadmapping processes: For each key technology, concrete implementation paths (‘roadmaps’) with milestones and indicators are to be established, which will serve as guidance for all participants and interested parties and present the implementation processes in a comprehensible manner.

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During the kick-off event, the invited experts had the opportunity to comment on the contents of the High-Tech Agenda and submit suggestions for further development via an interactive survey. When asked in which key technologies Germany was a global leader, 20 percent of participants voted for quantum technologies and 16 percent for nuclear fusion and climate-neutral energy generation. However, many (42 percent) were of the opinion that Germany was not a leader in any of the key technologies. The most important levers of the High-Tech Agenda were considered to be the reduction of bureaucracy (53 percent), the acceleration of knowledge and technology transfer (53 percent) and the strengthening of the venture capital market (42 percent). In summary, the verdict was that Germany must become more active in various areas in order to keep up.

The High-Tech Agenda Germany will initially be implemented via a roadmap for each priority key technology. This will provide a concrete overview of funding programmes, research infrastructures and specific incentives for investment. The opening event marked the start of a process to further develop these roadmaps with the designers and users of the technologies: with representatives from the federal states, industry, science and society. This process is accompanied by 360° monitoring, which documents developments and challenges in key technologies. On the other hand, the roadmaps assess the status of implementation in the individual key technologies. This contributes to the transparency of the process and increases the adaptability of the roadmaps. As a learning process, the High-Tech Agenda Germany will thus be able to respond flexibly to new technological challenges in the coming years.