A New Catalyst for Central Germany’s Deep Tech Ecosystem: HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) are joining forces to create a new catalyst for Central Germany’s deep tech ecosystem. Through their recently formalized partnership, the two institutions aim to bring together cutting-edge scientific research and entrepreneurship in the region more closely than ever before. Their shared objectives are to strengthen entrepreneurship in the deep tech sector and to accelerate the transfer of scientific discoveries into marketable applications. At the same time, the collaboration creates new interdisciplinary networking opportunities between researchers from both institutions across the natural and business sciences.

Through this partnership, HHL and CTC are advancing innovation at the intersection of research, technology transfer, and education. They support the commercialization of outstanding research through spin-offs while preparing the next generation of researchers and entrepreneurs. This is achieved through four interconnected levers: education and professional development, interactive exchange formats, startup support, and the strategic use of intellectual property.

Science Meets Business: Key Elements of the Partnership

The collaboration includes reciprocal teaching contributions, joint courses and workshops, as well as practice-oriented thesis projects based on real-world deep tech scenarios. In this way, both partners introduce scientific insights into entrepreneurial contexts at an early stage and encourage students to engage in science-based entrepreneurship, also known as sciencepreneurship.

Short-term exchange formats such as lunch talks and micro-workshops will provide initial opportunities for professional dialogue and future collaboration. A particular focus is placed on supporting early-stage business ideas, especially technologically complex and high-risk deep tech projects. Planned initiatives include interdisciplinary matchmaking formats for team building, meet-and-learn sessions with alumni founders, and accessible advisory services for early-stage ventures and business concepts.

In addition, HHL and CTC are developing joint approaches to better integrate technologies, intellectual property, and product development. The goal is to establish viable commercialization pathways for deep tech innovations.

Collaboration Already Underway

The partnership is further supported through participation in events hosted by both institutions. A successful first milestone was the HHL Entrepreneurship Week in April, which brought together leading startup centers, startup coaches, researchers, and students from across Europe in Leipzig. An interdisciplinary team from CTC presented its research through a poster session and a specialist presentation.

Voices on the Partnership

“Our collaboration with CTC is a valuable addition to the region’s innovation ecosystem. Together, we are bringing talent, technologies, and entrepreneurial expertise together, thereby strengthening Central Germany as a leading deep tech hub,” says Prof. Dr. Tobias Dauth, Rector of HHL.

“Transforming the chemical industry requires more than excellent research. It requires people who can translate scientific ideas into entrepreneurial solutions. This is precisely where our partnership with HHL comes in: we are creating a structured platform that deliberately combines business and scientific expertise into an integrated sciencepreneurship approach. In doing so, we actively foster the development of innovative business ideas emerging from chemical research and support their transformation into sustainable, market-ready applications,” adds Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter Seeberger, Scientific Director of CTC.

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Press Release in the HHL Newsroom

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management is a university-level business school with the right to award doctoral and post-doctoral qualifications. According to the Financial Times rankings, HHL is among the world’s leading international business schools and achieves top global rankings in areas such as career services, alumni networking, and salary outcomes after graduation. As Germany’s oldest business school, HHL’s mission is to educate entrepreneurial, responsible, and high-performing leaders. The school is distinguished by its academic excellence, strong research focus, effective transfer of knowledge into practice, and outstanding student services. In 2025, the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany) recognized HHL as Germany’s No. 1 university for entrepreneurship for the seventh consecutive time. Over the past 30 years, more than 530 companies have been founded by HHL alumni and members of its entrepreneurial ecosystem, collectively employing over 30,000 people. HHL was the first private business school in Germany to receive accreditation from the internationally renowned Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and has successfully maintained this quality status through five consecutive reaccreditations. https://www.hhl.de/de/die-hhl

About the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC)

Rethinking Chemistry: The Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) is Germany’s first large-scale research center dedicated to advancing a circular economy in the chemical industry. Its mission is to drive the transformation of the chemical sector toward a more sustainable future. Founded in 2025 as a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH), the CTC is expected to grow to up to 1,000 employees by 2038. Together, its team will pursue two visionary moonshots for the future of chemistry: the fully recyclable car and the autonomous laboratory. With permanent locations in Delitzsch (Saxony) and Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt), the CTC will play a key role in advancing structural transformation and innovation across Central Germany. The CTC is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the Free State of Saxony, and the State of Saxony-Anhalt.