ASTRID iHUB

A joint initiative between Stadtwerke Wolfsburg AG and WOBCOM, the iHub aims to turn the region into a preferred investment iHub for technology companies, while also reaffirming North Germany as a premier ICT location. In close collaboration with relevant technology partners, the initiative seeks to secure a set of key enablers to nurture an attractive Open Source ecosystem for targeted investments, for instance, talent, infrastructure, R&D institutions and platforms, incentives and funding, networks, broadband access and liveability.

Non-profit aim

The non-profit aim of our DIH is to strengthen digital innovations in Lower Saxony and to master regional-specific challenges. The vision is to create incentives for new companies to settle in the region and modernize existing ones. The resulting networking of open source and various forms of cooperation should result in solutions that should improve the living conditions of citizens in cities in the long term. For example, this is how practical digital applications are created.

Supporting local SMEs

In close cooperation with national and international technology companies, Stadtwerke and WOBCOM want to create the conditions to promote an attractive open source ecosystem for targeted investments. The aim of the ASTRID iHUB is to make the region a preferred investment location for technology companies and to strengthen northern Germany as a first-class location for information and communication technology (ICT). The open source culture is the basis of all activities of the ASTRID iHUB, where sharing ideas and results creates better solutions and more innovations for everyone. As an open platform, the ASTRID iHUB is intended to promote new ideas for digital services in the future and form a central point of contact for established SMEs in order to jointly identify partners and financing options for projects. The focus is the development and implementation of concepts in the areas of digitization so that cities become more digital (Smart City), mobility more intelligent (Smart Mobility), industry more networked (Smart Industry) and applications more secure (Smart Security). As part of the international open source community of the FIWARE Foundation, the ASTRID iHUB will promote cross-border innovation activities while building bridges to local SMEs.

Our Story

In 2016, the City of Wolfsburg unanimously approved and developed a strategic plan to guide the City’s economic development activities and investment over the next decade. The result was a set of goals, strategies, and actions that will propel the City of Wolfsburg forward toward its vision for 2025. Called #WolfsburgDigital, a Private Public “model city for digitization and electromobility”.

This project had the goals to improve Digital Transformation in the city, the investor in leaders and teams, created for entrepreneurs with the aim of retaining the talent generated in Wolfsburg, which has the collaboration of the University of Ostfalia, Business Partner and the City of Wolfsburg.In 2018, the Stadtwerke Wolfsburg AG built a functionalist construction situated in the heart of the city’s downtown district. The facility’s location, onsite transportation access, and proximity to the airport (Berlin or Hanover) are attractive to commuters from across the metro area (Metropol Region).The newspace has the capacity as a modern office with an integrated Data Center and the objective of establishing a business incubator is to accelerate business growth and success and decrease the likelihood of failure. This in turn creates new jobs, diversifies the industrial base, and enhances the quality of life in the community.

After this experience and a lot of projects in the city, the Stadtwerke Wolfsburg AG, have decided to invest more in Innovation and R&I (Research and Innovation).

The project ASTRID iHUB will be a business incubator based on talent and new technology.