We are the
InnovationLab Ltd.
We, InnovationLab GmbH, were founded in 2008 as a winner of the BMBF's top cluster Forum Organic Electronics with the aim of developing innovative forms of cooperation between science and industry. Our shareholders are the three leading global corporations HEIDELBERGER Druckmaschinen, BASF and SAP together with the two top universities Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg.
About us
The iL story
The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region Science Advisory Board was founded in May 2007 on the initiative of Prof. Dr. Claus E. Heinrich, former member of the Executive Board of SAP and former Chairman of the Future of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region Association (ZMRN e.V.). The aim of this high-caliber committee is to promote the networking of science and business in the region and to support joint research activities. In order to achieve these goals, the Science Council actively supported the founding of InnovationLab GmbH and the successful application of the Forum Organic Electronics cluster in the Leading-Edge Cluster Competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and the surrounding area is home to numerous well-known companies, universities and research institutes that are involved in the development of the future technology of organic electronics. In the past, these were mainly individual activities or bilateral collaborations. With the Leading-Edge Cluster Competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as a catalyst, the loosely linked participants from science and industry were successfully brought together to form a close-knit research network, the Forum Organic Electronics. This targeted networking has led to the formation of a leading-edge cluster for organic electronics, whose mapping of the entire value chain represents a unique selling point worldwide. In line with the co-innovation model, the partners' expertise is pooled across disciplines. Joint research projects create decisive synergies that enable faster development of marketable products and applications.
iL as an employer
Why it's fun to be part of the iL team
With our research and transfer platform, we see ourselves in the role of problem solver and accelerator for the fields of clean tech, life science and printing technologies. As a "connector" of science and business, we offer an interdisciplinary working environment for universities, companies and start-ups with a comprehensive infrastructure.
Thanks to funding projects and cluster initiatives, InnovationLab is a preferred location for scientists who want to work together with renowned partners. We are particularly proud of the fact that working groups from our partner universities, Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), are active here. These working groups cover the entire development chain from functional materials to printed components and thus continuously open up new technological perspectives.
Development of iL to date
16 years of growth and establishment
2008/2009
InnovationLab founded as winner of the BMBF's Forum Organic Electronics cluster of excellence
2011
Opening of the offices and cleanroom laboratories for functional and electronic printing on a total area of 3000m²
2016
3D printing, biosensor technology and automation
2019
Expansion of laboratory and office space from 3000m² to 6200m²
2023
New construction of S1 and S2 laboratories for biological and chemical work
2024
Strategic realignment with a focus on clean tech and life science technologies
Dr.-Ing. Michael Kröger
Managing Director
Michael Kröger has known InnovationLab since it was founded in 2008, when he was responsible for setting up laboratories and designing content as a scientific group leader. As Managing Director, he has been responsible for the further development and expansion of InnovationLab GmbH since 2022.
Prior to that, Michael worked for BASF and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen in management positions in technology, sales and operations. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from TU Braunschweig and spent 2 years as a researcher at Princeton University.
"As Managing Director of InnovationLab GmbH, but also as a husband and father of three daughters, I am driven by the need to shape the economy sustainably. I firmly believe that science and technology can and must pave the way to this future. For me, InnovationLab is the place to make this happen."
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Lemmer
Scientific Managing Director
Professor Ulrich Lemmer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has known the iL since its beginnings in 2008. Since then, he has repeatedly led research projects at the site. Lemmer has been Scientific Managing Director since October 1, 2023, succeeding his predecessor Professor Wolfgang Kowalsky (TU Braunschweig), who left the InnovationLab on April 1, 2023.
Uli' Lemmer's academic career includes a degree in physics in Aachen, his doctorate in Marburg and a postdoctoral position at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The Gummersbach native then became group leader in the Department of Organic Electronics at the University of Munich. In 2002, he was appointed Professor in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and Director of the Light Technology Institute at KIT. Numerous publications round off the renowned researcher's career. Lemmer is very familiar with the history of iL and would like to shape the future together with Dr. Michael Kröger.
"By networking in the academic world, I try to constantly set new priorities in terms of strategy and content. I see myself as someone who can build bridges and play a key role in shaping the technological direction of the InnovationLab."
The company in figures
16+
Years of experience
Clusters of excellence with competence centers and partners have been formed here at the location since 2008/2009. We have had an established environment of SMEs at the location for around 16 years.
~6200m²
Laboratory & office space
We operate S1 and S2 laboratories, physics laboratories, an ISO class 7 clean room, a yellow room, offices and coworking spaces. Our motto: Everything under one roof.
7
Cluster projects
Joint research projects create decisive synergies that enable faster development of marketable products and applications.
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