Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld are expanding

The Hamburg Senate is funding the rapid expansion of the Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld by 360 square meters with 700,000 euros. In total, at least 25 laboratory workplaces and 20 office workplaces are to be created on the DESY campus in the immediate vicinity of the existing Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld building. Senator for Economic Affairs Michael Westhagemann says: "We have an extremely attractive location here, which we are further promoting in the context of the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld . By connecting science and business, we are creating a strong basis for driving innovations for our society. It is precisely in such an environment that new companies with forward-looking business models, additional jobs and vibrant neighborhoods are created."
 
Finance Senator Andreas Dressel adds: "In Bahrenfeld, a new space is being created - also with Corona funds - that brings together business and science, creating new value, innovation and jobs. The money is well invested for Hamburg. This is how we invest in the city of tomorrow."

The demand from startups for complex laboratories and office space in Hamburg exceeds its supply. The Senate is acting accordingly and is providing the funds so that young companies can find a location quickly and start their success story. The expansion of Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld comes just one year after its opening in summer 2021 and underscores the strong appeal of the constantly expanding innovation ecosystem on the DESY campus. Arik Willner, Chief Technology Officer at DESY and Co-Managing Director of Startup Labs Bahrenfeld says: "A high level of dynamism is developing here, fed on the one hand by science and on the other by the startups that are settling on the campus. This shows that we are taking exactly the right steps with the development and expansion of our innovation ecosystem. We are very pleased that the city of Hamburg also recognizes this and supports this location, where innovations are created for society."
 
The Innovationszentrum Forschungscampus Hamburg-Bahrenfeld GmbH, which operates the Start-up Labs, is responsible for setting up and operating the container expansion. The expansion on the DESY campus is an extremely pragmatic solution, as it allows the uncomplicated use of existing building infrastructures. Denny Droßmann, Managing Director of Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld, emphasizes: "Every month, we received several requests that we were no longer able to serve after a short time. The bottleneck was always the availability of lab space, especially in the wet lab area, i.e. for biological or chemical applications. We can now better meet this demand and further expand our ecosystem."
 
In the long term, further demand from startups and growing companies for laboratory and office space for startups in the biotechnology sector will be met by the tecHHub (opening in 2023 in the Altona Innovation Park on Vorhornweg) and the DESY Innovation Factory (opening in 2025 on the DESY campus and in the Altona Innovation Park). These facilities will create additional locations that will enable the transfer of developments and findings from science to industry. The useful life of the container expansion of the Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld is currently set for five years and its construction is planned for November 2022.