About us - ChemieNetzwerk Harz
Who we are
We, a non-profit or cluster organization called ChemieNetzwerk Harz ("ChemistryNetwork Harz"), connect our member companies and scientific institutions from the chemical and chemical-related sectors in the Harz region in Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia in Germany. We aim to deepen the cooperation and exchange between various actors from the industry, science, administration and politics. Currently, our members consist of 14 producing chemical, metallurgical and recycling companies, two logistics companies, two universities and one business development agency.
Encouraging innovation
One of our main focuses lies on encouraging innovation. Innovation is the driving force behind the continuous improvement in society, science and economy. Our home region, the Harz Mountains, one of the oldest industrial areas in Europe due to our mining heritage, is a great example for the importance and success of innovative ideas. Here, hundreds of years of innovation in mining and chemistry have provided us with inventions and solutions that are integral to our everyday lives today. Did you know that the production of lithium salts, which we need for batteries and pharmaceuticals among other things, was carried out on an industrial scale for the first time in the town of Langelsheim in the western Harz region in the 1920s?
We from ChemieNetzwerk Harz have therefore made it our mission to support our members in their innovative development, for example in the implementation of environmentally friendly process- and production procedures, through initiating and supporting innovative research and projects. Through this, we want to support them in becoming even more sustainable, environmentally conscious and future-proof.
Supporting continuous improvement
But our work does not stop there. We further help our members connect with and help each other in other corporate-related areas. We regularly offer meetings, seminars and workshops on a variety of topics that are relevant to our members, like HR- and HSE-related topics, Internet of Things, procurement, data protection and many more. Furthermore, we help to raise the profile of our members in the Harz region and beyond through regional marketing in print, online and social media as well as through cooperations with institutions and other non-profit organizations.
Financially supported by a public fund
As a non-profit organization with a focus on innivation and research, we are partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Initially, we received a total of 194,300 € in ERDF funding from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2019. Since November 26, 2019, we are again being supported with a total of 140,117.60 €.This funding ends on June 30, 2022. The remaining part of our total project expenditure in these two and a half years, amounting to 351,294.00 €, is financed by our members through membership fees.