We are the
InnovationLab GmbH
We, InnovationLab GmbH, were founded in 2008 as the winner of the BMBF's Forum Organic Electronics leading-edge cluster with the aim of developing innovative forms of cooperation between science and industry. Our shareholders are the two world-leading corporations HEIDELBERGER Druckmaschinen and BASF, together with the two leading universities Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg.
About us
The iL Story
In May 2007, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region was established at the initiative of Prof. Dr. Claus E. Heinrich, former SAP board member and former chairman of the Zukunft Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (ZMRN e.V.) association. The objective of this high-profile committee is to advance the networking of science and industry in the region and to promote joint research activities. To achieve these goals, the Scientific 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.
Numerous renowned companies, universities, and research institutions involved in the development of the future technology of organic electronics are located in and around the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In the past, these were primarily individual activities or bilateral collaborations. With the Leading-Edge Cluster competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) acting as a catalyst, loosely connected participants from science and industry were successfully brought together to form a close research network, the Forum Organic Electronics. This targeted networking has led to the formation of a leading-edge cluster for organic electronics, whose representation of the entire value chain is a unique selling proposition worldwide. Following the co-innovation model, the partners' competencies are bundled across disciplines. Joint research projects create crucial synergies that enable faster development of marketable products and applications.
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
Collaborative research projects create crucial synergies that enable the accelerated development of marketable products and applications.
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