Connecting Innovators - 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry and Health celebrates 5th anniversary

Ludwigshafen am Rhein, 19.07.2023 - 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health, the innovation hub for digitalisation and sustainability in the chemical and healthcare industry, celebrated its 5th anniversary under the motto "Connecting Innovators".

Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Dr. Robert Habeck, patron of the Digital Hub Initiative, of which the 5-HT Digital Hub is a member, praised the Hub in the anniversary commemorative publication: "In the past five years, the Hub team has supported numerous start-ups from all over the world that have distinguished themselves with groundbreaking ideas in the field of digital health and chemistry. However, the Hub not only supports young companies, but also established ones. Through cooperations, innovation workshops and tailor-made programmes, it has been able to help many companies see the challenges of the digital transformation as an opportunity - and thus open up new business fields. In a special way, however, I would like to thank the staff of the Hub, who work passionately every day to make the Digital Hub a centre of excellence: Your expertise, creativity and dedication are the engine behind the successes - you can be proud of what you have achieved! "

The anniversary celebration took place on 19 July in the picturesque BASF Gutshof Rehhütte with shareholders, corporate partners, start-ups from the very beginning and representatives from politics.

The two managing directors of 5-HT Digital Hub, Dr Frank Funke and Stefan Kohl, led the event. In his speech, Stefan Kohl reviewed the past years and thanked the partners as well as the team for their outstanding cooperation and valuable contributions to the success story of 5-HT.

Guests of honour who spoke at the anniversary celebration included Petra Dick-Walther, Rhineland-Palatinate's Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Stefan Dallinger, Chairman of the Rhine-Neckar Regional Association, and Alexander Böser, Senior Ecosystem Manager at 5-HT. Mr Böser spoke about the importance of digitalisation and sustainability in the chemical and healthcare industry, providing valuable insights and success stories.

Dr. Dirk Elvermann, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Digital Hub Rhein Neckar GmbH, which is the sponsoring company of the 5-HT Digital Hub, and CFO/CDO of BASF, emphasised: "On the occasion of today's anniversary, my thanks go to the 5-HT management and team, which has grown steadily in the 5 years since its founding and, with its global network, has created a valuable platform to connect players from industry, research and education, as well as investors and startups, thus making a visible contribution to further development in the chemical and healthcare sectors. I look forward to the further developments of 5-HT and the expansion of the network to further drive digitalisation and innovation in both focus sectors."

Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of Rhineland-Palatinate, promotes the Hub and stated: "With a multitude of individual projects, networkings and pitches, the 5-HT Hub is extraordinarily successful in preparing the ground for new networking, which is the basis for innovative projects in the field of digital chemistry and health. In the past 5 years, the 5-HT Hub has succeeded in developing an impressive network that benefits from the dedicated activities of the 5-HT team and, above all, knows how to use the Hub's exemplary international contacts. I wish the 5-HT Hub continued success and great success in the years to come!"

Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economics, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg, said: "As a beacon for the forward-looking topics of Digital Chemistry & Health, the 5-HT Digital Hub has developed into a valuable component of the Germany-wide Digital Hub initiative over the past few years. In addition, the 5-HT Digital Hub is an important building block of the Digital Hub Network Baden-Württemberg, which includes another two de:hubs and twelve regional Digital Hubs. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in setting up and running the 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health so far and who has accompanied numerous companies and especially start-ups on their way. I am pleased that we will be able to support the de:hub Mannheim/Ludwigshafen - the 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health - as a state for another two years and thus provide impetus for its sustainable operation."

Stefan Dallinger, Chairman of the Rhine-Neckar Regional Association, adds: "As a global megatrend, digitalisation influences almost all areas of life. This makes it all the more important for competitiveness and innovative strength to be a pioneer of digitalisation. Many companies and people in the Rhine-Neckar region have been working on this for years. The targeted establishment of clusters, innovation networks and modern innovation ecosystems is an integral part of the joint regional development of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. The key to success is cooperation. The 5 HT Digital Hub is a flagship for a strongly positioned research landscape and the existing innovative power in new, innovative products, start-ups and entrepreneurial value creation."

"5-HT's 5th anniversary marks an important milestone for us. We are proud of how far we have come since our founding and look forward to a promising future," said Stefan Kohl and Dr Frank Funke, Managing Directors of 5-HT. "Our success would not have been possible without the support of all our shareholders, advisory boards, partners, funders, supporters, partner hubs and of course our dedicated team. We would like to express our great gratitude to them all. And we would like to invite everyone to continue on this path together with us. We still need founders' spirit, innovative strength and enthusiasm for digitalisation. And it needs companies that, despite all the risks, are willing to boldly go new ways and implement ideas."

The anniversary celebration provided a good platform to look back on 5-HT's achievements and explore future opportunities for innovation and collaboration. The event also served to further strengthen 5-HT's network and deepen relationships between stakeholders in the chemical and healthcare industries.

About 5-HT:

The 5-HT Digital Hub Chemistry & Health, based in Ludwigshafen, is part of the Digital Hub Initiative (de:hub) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection to promote digital innovation in Germany. The aim of 5-HT is to provide international companies, start-ups, investors and other stakeholders with a platform to exchange, collaborate and promote and implement digital and sustainable innovations in the chemistry and health industry.

Specialised programmes and services for companies and startups help to bring needs and partners together.

In addition to the shareholders BASF SE, SAP SE and Pepperl+Fuchs SE, numerous other corporate partners support the 5-HT Digital Hub.

5-HT's 5th Anniversary Publication (in German)