INTO GERMANY! The German Business Podcast

The costs of converting Germany's power supply infrastructure to renewably generated electricity is enormous. Some skeptics fear the high cost of the transition will frighten off international companies. But there is also a case that with increasing numbers of firms committed to carbon-neutral production, Germany's green energy grids will soon a powerful argument for them to do business there. Our Guests: Nicolas Steinbacher is Senior Director of Strategy & Corporate Development for Swedish lithium-ion battery company Northvolt in Germany. Northvolt has broken ground on a gigafactory in northern Germany with its huge supplies of wind-generated electricity. Marco Nix is Chief Financial Officer for 50Hertz, one of Germany's electrical transmission grid operators. His company is building thousands of kilometers of power lines to feed green grids bringing energy from wind and solar sources in the north, to manufacturing centers in the south of the country.

In late 2023, American pharma giant Eli Lilly and Company announced plans to build a $2.5 billion production facility in western Germany. It’s one of the largest investments in the sector ever. The plant will at first produce its new tirzepatide drugs for diabetes and obesity. Demand is expected to soar. The major expansion comes as Berlin is reforming the rules governing German pharma, with a key aim of boosting drug production within the country. Our Guests: Gerd Kräh is associate VP of government affairs with Eli Lilly Deutschland. He is one of the most experienced media and political affairs executives in the German pharmaceutical industry. Marcus Schmidt is director of the chemicals and health division at Germany Trade & Invest. He has worked as an advisor to the German government on reforming policies regulating the pharmaceutical sector, and helped Eli Lilly and Company find a location in Germany to build one of its largest plants outside of the United States.

Germany’s GDP growth has slowed recently, and the number of FDI projects are slightly lower, but the country’s long-term stability and even its transition to sustainable industry are still attracting big projects in critical sectors as pharma, microchips and battery production. Eli Lilly and Company, Intel and Northvolt are just some of companies pushing ahead with gigantic endeavors in Germany. But what challenges await in the future? Our Guests: Terry Toland is a co-author of the Kearney 2023 Foreign Direct Investment Index and the thought leadership manager at the firm’s Global Business Policy Council. Robert Hermann is the CEO of Germany Trade & Invest, Berlin’s international economic promotion agency.

As Germany’s median age rises, new opportunities are opening the med-tech sector, for instance in the area of physiotherapy. At the same time, “silver agers” determined to remain active and fit in their later years is configuring the market for fitness clubs and service. There’s plenty of room in industry for international players. Our Guests: Davide Ferrario and Marco Sauer are with Movendo Technology, an Italian company pioneering robotic physiotherapeutic devices driven by artificial intelligence. The machines are being used to help people retain mobility into advanced age and recover more quickly from injuries. Florian Brauer is senior global product manager at FIBO, Germany’s annual fitness trade fair, and the largest of its kind in the world. FIBO will be held again in Cologne in April 2024.

Germany is aiming to become climate-neutral by 2045 – to help combat climate change but also to become more resilient in its energy supply. Russia’s war oin Ukraine highlighted an aspect of energy provision most people had previously ignored: storage. As renewables take over an increasing share of the powermix in Germany, opportunites are being created everywhere for innovated solutions in the energy storage sector. We take a deep dive. Our Guests: Lars Stephan is senior policy and market development manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at the Fluence company. Fluence is a global leader in energy storage products, services and software, operating in 47 markets around the world. The company was founded in 2018 as a joint venture between Siemens in Germany and AES in the United States. Beatrice Schulz is head of technologies and markets at Germany's BVES Energy Storage Systems Association. The BVES is the largest trade association in the world for players in the energy storage sector. It represents a spectrum of storage technologies in the sectors of electricity, heat and mobility. Links to sound clips: Joe Biden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK80IAM7Pgg Boris Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK80IAM7Pgg Olaf Schulz - One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Lvhy5sZ-4 Olaf Schulz - Two https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEjdiduyQXI

Is "smart city" just another buzzword? Or a useful way of thinking about how to make urban life more livable, sustainable, diverse, healthy and equitable? We speak to the head of one of the largest property development and urbal planning projects in Europe, HafenCity Hamburg. And we get an assessment from two smart-cities experts on the challenges and opportunities of the metropoles of the future. As Germany’s cities grow, and environmental and other demands intensify, the need for innovative and intellegent urban planning is creating business opportunities in Europe’s largest economy. Our Guests: Andreas Kleinau is the CEO of HafenCity Hamburg, Europe’s most extensive inner-city property development project. Started 25 years ago, HafenCity is now a vibrant, functional part of Germany’s second biggest city. Its unique mix of commercial, residential, educational and leisure aspects has won many major architecture and urban design awards at home and abroad. Tamlyn Shimizu is the lead for global partnerships and communication at Bable. A spin-off of leading Geran applied research organization the Fraunhofer Society, the young company fosters relationships with key stakeholders to promote sustainable and innovative urban solutions. Shimizu is also the host of Bable's "Smart in the City" podcast Robert Compton is a deputy director of energy construction and environmental technologies at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) and a key figure in GTAI’s Smart Cities initiative. Walt Disney sound bite courtesy of 1966 EPCOT Film: https://youtu.be/UEm-09B0px8?feature=shared

The threat of cybercrime is at an all-time high. That’s due to a variety of factors including companies’ increasing digitization, vast amounts of work now being done in home office and the war in Ukraine. That’s created huge demand in Europe’s largest market, Germany. We talk to an expert and a business executive about the current state of cybersecurity and what opportunities are opening up for international companies in Germany. Our guests Torsten Strufe is a cybersecurity expert from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and adjunct professor at the Technical University of Dresden. His fields of research include privacy and resilience in the context of social networking services, the metaverse, and behavioral privacy. Pierre-Alain Mouy is a managing director of NVISO, a cyber security consulting firm focused mainly on the financial, technology and government sectors. The company is based in Belgium and expanded into Germany in 2018. For further information and feedback please turn to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.eu

The stakes could not be higher. Germany aspires to lead the way in achieving carbon emissions neutrality. To that, it’s going to need lots and lots of regenerative energy, including solar power. The country already experienced a solar boom around the turn of millennium, but it didn’t last. Now, the sun is back at the center of Germany’s transition to clean energy and its new energy economy. Can solar succeed this time around in Europe’s largest market? We get assessments from a CTO of an up-and-coming solar company and a sector expert. Our guests Chris Case is the CTO of Oxford PV, a solar energy company that has expanded to the eastern German city of Brandenburg, He’s a board member of the European Solar Manufacturing Council, a steering committee member of the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP-PV) and, since 2021, the president of the International Thin-Film Solar Industry Association (PVthin). He also advises the SuperSolar Hub of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC). He has extensively published in international newspapers and scientific journals and is a regular speaker and lecturer on integrated circuits and photovoltaics. David Wedepohl is a trained radio journalist who studied and has worked on both sides of the Atlantic. He first came in contact with the solar industry while working for an American consulting company, which he left to take up a job as director of communications and markets at the German Solar Association. He also served as the association's spokesperson. He is now that organization’s managing director of international affairs, working on projects in North, West and Southern Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the US. Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

After the success of previously unknown biopharma company BioNTech in combatting Covid, Germany is back in the spotlight as “the world’s pharmacy.” But what comes next for the sector? And how can international health-sector companies profit? We talk to the world’s oldest pharmaceutical company Merck, a serial entrepreneur and a biotech journalist about personal medication, international partnerships and mRNA technology and its potential for fighting cancer. Our guests Laura Matz is the Chief Science and Technology Officer for Merck, Darmstadt, Germany. An executive vice-president, she’s responsible for the corporate innovation teams including the digital office and new digital business models. She has 20 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing and a decade of experience running semiconductor materials businesses. She has a PhD in analytical chemistry from Washington State University. Maike Becker-Krüger studied International Relations at Lake Forest College in Chicago and at Franklin University in Switzerland. This was followed by an MBA from Quadriga University Berlin. She worked directly for state premier of the regional German state of Hessen before taking responsibility for European policy coordination within the national government. Starting in 2015, she has built up the capital city office and the Corporate and Government Relations Berlin department at Merck. Since 2022, Maike Becker-Krüger has been Head of EU & Germany Corporate Affairs. Oliver Schacht is a corporate finance professional and expert in the molecular diagnostics industry and CEO of OpGen. He has co-founded several start-up companies in biotech, clean tech, IT and education in Europe and the US and has experience in developing and implementing commercial strategies and financing measures (including two IPOs). He also serves as the chairman of the Board of Internal Council of Biotechnology Assocations and the president of the German industry association BIO Deutschland. He studied European Business Administration in Reutlingen and London and holds a PhD from Cambridge University (UK). Dr. Georg Kääb studied biology in Regensburg and Munich and earned his doctorate in neuroimmunology. After freelancing for the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, he became editor-in-chief and co-managing director at the Association of German Biologists. From 2007 to 2021, he headed the communication of the cluster organization BioM (Martinsried), was managing director of the Biotechnology Cluster Bavaria and spokesperson for BioRegions in Germany. Since autumn 2021, he has headed the editorial team of the biotechnology magazine division at media company BIOCOM AG. Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

Think Germany, and you probably don’t think fun and games. But you should. Where else is gaming a special part of the Economics Ministry? Germans are absolutely fanatics for games and represent Europe’s biggest electronic gaming market, with some 49 million active players. To get the latest on this dynamic sector, we talk to one of Europe’s leading games developers and the head of the German Association for the Games Industry. Our guests     Benedikt Grindel is managing director of Ubisoft Blue Byte and also heads Ubisoft Düsseldorf. Grindel studied mathematics with a minor in business administration at the University of Münster. He joined Ubisoft in 1998 and worked for three years in the marketing and business development department. He then moved to the game development studio Blue Byte after it was acquired by Ubisoft. As a producer, he was responsible for the "The Settlers" brand, and in 2010 he launched the live operation unit at Ubisoft Blue Byte. In 2014, he took on the role of managing director.   Felix Falk has been managing director of game since February 1, 2018. From 2009 to 2016, he was managing director of the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK). As vice chairman of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), he helped develop the global labeling standard for online games and apps during this time. From 2004 to 2009, he headed the office of Monika Griefahn, chair of the Committee for Culture and Media in the German Bundestag. In this capacity, he was responsible for the computer games and, among other things, helped create the the German Computer Game Prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2009.   Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

You can have the best product in the world, but when it doesn’t reach your costumers, you can’t sell it. Thanks to its geographical location and other factors, Germany is the heart of European transport and shipping – and one of the world’s largest logistics markets. But geopolitical concerns and the need for sustainability, is forcing a reload in logistics. We talk to the head of digitalization at one of the largest global forwarding companies and a popular logistics podcaster about where the sector is headed. Our guests Thomas Grunau was made Senior Vice President of Global Business Strategy & Digitalization at DHL Global Forwarding in June 2019. Under his leadership DHL Global Forwarding has developed an industry-leading customer portal, myDHLi, that allows connects suppliers, customers and partners and gives users a 360-degree view of their shipments. Andreas Löwe works on the integration of automation technology and software at Norwegian company AutoStore and is a mastermind behind the weekly German podcast "Irgendwas mit Logistik" (Something About Logistics). Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com

Cars, e-bikes, smartphones…the future will run on batteries. They're a crucial component of Germany’s transition to clean energy, but they can only have their desired effect if they’re recycled. We take a closer look at the battery recycling industry in Europe’s largest economy and automotive heartland. Is this thenext big thing in the German economy? Our guests Chris Reed has over 30 years’ experience in the mining industry including more than 20 years in senior executive roles. Chris co-founded Reed Resources (now Neometals Ltd) in 2001 and is Managing Director/CEO. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Notre Dame and a Graduate Certificate in Mineral Economics from WA School of Mines. He is also aember of the AusIMM and is a past Vice-President of AMEC. Dr. Philipp Rose is a project director at Strategy&, the global strategy consultancy of PricewaterhouseCoopers. A trained engineer with more than ten years of experience working with electric vehicles, five of them as a business consultant in America, Asia and Europe, he’s a passionate advocate of electrifying the transport sector in terms of both vehicles and systems. He has also advised the German parliament, the Bundestag, on questions of e-mobility. Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

Who needs science fiction when present reality is so spectaculat? That’s the question posed by artificial intelligence. AI has been in the new a lot lately thanks to ChatGPT, so we thought it would be good to look at what’s going in the area in Europe’s largest economy. Is there a German version of the famous chatbot? In what areas does AI have the greatest promise? Can international companies in the field find success if they set up shop in Germany? And why are German researchers so important in teaching AI to have a sense of humor? Azadeh Ghahghaie: Azadeh Ghahghaie is the director at the SAP.iO Berlin, which is part of the global network of equity-free startup accelerators of software giant SAP. There she helps promising startups to integrate with SAP solutions and accelerate their entry into a curated, inclusive ecosystem whose offerings can be easily accessed and deployed. Prof. Antonio Krüger Prof. Antonio Krüger is an internationally renowned expert in human-machine interaction and artificial intelligence. He’s the CEO and scientific director and head of the research area "Cognitive Assistance Systems" at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). He also holds the Globus Endowed Professorship for Computer Science at Saarland University and is head of the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab and scientific director of the Innovative Retail Laboratory (IRL) at DFKI. Kian Mirshahi Kian Mirshahi is the founder and CEO of Mayday.ai, a young company devoted to innovative artificial intelligence approaches for disasters and risk intelligence. Mayday has gained recognition and accolades from many UN agencies, as well the European and the German Space Agencies. Mirshahi is an advocate of using the power of AI to manage the impacts of climate change impacts and create resilient communities around the world.

Russia’s war against the Ukraine underscored the need for Germany to get more from less energy – something that was already a priority in the global fight against climate change. But how can energy efficiency be increased most efficiently? What opportunities do international companies have to be active in the field in Germany? And why are heat pumps currently flying off shelvesin Europe’s biggest economy? Three specialists give us the lowdown. Our guests Volker Weinmann Volker Weinmann has worked for Daikin, the world’s leading heat pump producer, for twenty years. In his current position as representative for politics, environment and associations, he represents the company at numerous committees, associations, initiatives and organizations. Andrew Mack The British CEO of Munich’s Octopus Energy, Andrew Mack, is an expert on the future of energy, having worked in the industry for almost two decades. Before setting up shop in Germany, he helped take London’s OVO Energy from a startup to the second largest independent energy company in the UK. Marek Miara Marek Miara is a veteran in the field of renewable energies and been employed for twenty years at the Fraunhofer ISE, where he currently serves as the institute’s business developer for heat pumps. He has supervised both national and international projects and is also a member of the Association of German Engineers and the energy division of the German chapter of Scientists for Future.

Starting in the 1990s, chip production migrated to low-wage countries in Asia. Does Europe have any chance of enticing it back? It has! In this episode we’ll talk to the woman leading Intel’s big expansion in Germany. And get insights from the managing director of something called Silicon Saxony. Christin Eisenschmid She is Managing Director, Vice President and General Manager of Intel Germany and responsible for leading Intel's operations in Germany. Christin has spent 30 years of her career in the semiconductor industry, holding management positions at Siemens Semiconductors and Infineon before joining Intel more than a decade ago. In this podcast, she gives insights about Intel’s plans in Magdeburg. Frank Bösenberg Managing Director at Silicon Saxony – Germany’s biggest high-tech-network. Together with national and regional investment promotion agencies, Silicon Saxony is helping bring international – as well as German – companies to Dresden. Special thanks to: Jerome Hull, Electronics & Microtechnology Send your feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

In this episode, we examine how the German automotive sector is gearing up for the transition to electric mobility. We talk to Matthias Zentgraf, who convinced the biggest battery supplier of the world to come to Germany. Automotive business guru Stefan Di Bitonto discusses the opportunities of the German market. And renowned chemist Prof. Martin Winter tells us how batteries will see higher energy densities, longer lifetimes, greater safety and sustainability, lower production costs. Matthias Zentgraf President of CATL Europe. Matthias Zentgraf has a background in the conventional car industry, working as a mechanical engineer in combustion engines and turbo machines. Later he was sales director at Samsung. In 2015 he moved into the field of e-mobility and began working for CATL. The Chinese company is the world’s leading lithium battery supplier. Stefan Di Bitonto Deputy Director Mechanical & Electronic Technologies at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the German government’s international business promotion agency. Stefan Di Bitonto consults with international automotive and supplier companies interested in expanding to Germany. Prof. Martin Winter Professor for Materials Science, Energy and Electrochemistry and head of the battery research center MEET at the University of Münster. Martin Winter is founding member of the Helmholtz Institute Münster HI MS “Ionics in Energy Storage” and a member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts. He is a recipient of the Officer's Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Send feedback and comments to andreas.bilfinger@gtai.com.

INTO GERMANY is the German business podcast in the English language. Every month we take a fast-paced but in-depth look at one of the hottest sectors and round up some of the most intriguing stories from Europe’s largest economy. Whether you’re an international businessperson already into Germany or just curious about EXPANDING your company to the heart of the EU, we’ve got lots of on-the-ground success stories. Plus some helpful hints about how Germany works – and could work for you. So tune in every month to INTO GERMANY! Because Germany means business.