Solving Tomorrow’s Challenges Today
Berlin, October 12, 2026 – Berlin is home to countless remarkable places. Some bring the city’s eventful history to life, others reflect its international and cosmopolitan spirit, while still others are at the forefront of innovation and research into the future. Among them are Berlin’s 11 Zukunftsorte (innovation hubs), where researchers and businesses work together to tackle today’s challenges. From October 5 to 19, an official campaign is once again putting these innovation hubs in the spotlight and raising awareness of them among Berliners. The campaign focuses on three key messages: Berlin’s innovation hubs turn talent into jobs. They solve tomorrow’s challenges today. And they drive economic growth and climate action. Because the future is not just imagined online but actively shaped at real locations across Berlin, the campaign will appear on a wide range of outdoor advertising spaces through October 19, including advertising columns, street banners and Ströer advertising displays. So keep an eye out!
Berlin’s 11 innovation hubs include the Health Innovation Quarter Berlin-Mitte, the Technologie-Park Berlin-Humboldthain, Berlin-Buch, CleanTech Marzahn,the Berlin Schöneweide Business and Science Hub,Adlershof,Tempelhof Airport, Berlin SÜDWEST, the Berlin Campus Charlottenburg,Siemensstadt Square and Berlin TXL – Urban Tech Republic. Together, these locations are home to 2,200 companies, 50 research institutions and 80,000 jobs, making them a major driver of Berlin’s economy. From startups and midsize businesses to research institutes and universities, they bring together a wide range of organizations that play a vital role in the city’s innovation ecosystem. A closer look at the companies and institutions based at these hubs reveals just how diverse Berlin’s future is shaping up to be. From artificial intelligence and biotechnology to clean tech and materials science, locations such as Mitte, Buch, Marzahn, Adlershof and Siemensstadt bring research, business and an entrepreneurial spirit together in a variety of ways. Turning innovative ideas into market-ready products and applications takes time and space to develop, test and refine them. Berlin’s innovation hubs provide both through real-world testing environments, often referred to as *living labs*. These spaces allow researchers and businesses to experiment with new technologies and test their practical applications in fields ranging from sustainable heating and food systems to cell and gene therapy and mobile communications. Examples include an aquifer thermal energy storage facility in Adlershof, the Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT) in Mitte, testing and experimentation sites for urban technologies at the former Tegel Airport and one of Europe’s most advanced direct air capture (DAC) demonstration facilities in Marzahn.
Anyone interested in discovering Berlin’s innovation hubs can start exploring them online, whether at home or on the go. The “Zukunftsorte Berlin” video podcast series on YouTube introduces the locations, their research activities and areas of expertise, and the people working there to shape the future. Those eager to learn more or experience Berlin’s innovative spirit firsthand can visit the hubs themselves through guided tours, panel discussions, exhibitions and events such as the Long Night of the Sciences. There’s certainly no shortage of things to discover in Berlin: its past, its present – and now its future, too.