Gründen NRW High-Tech

Innovative ideas in the high-tech sector require special support.

After all, companies in the high-tech sector are key to the economic development of the state. They drive developments and promote innovation beyond the boundaries of their own company. To do this, the founders often have to make considerable investments and therefore take on a particularly high risk when starting up.

With the HIGH-TECH.NRW accelerator, the state provides targeted and customised support for high-tech and deep-tech start-ups in the early company phase, which is based on in-depth research, hardware-based business models or highly complex technology applications.

Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW and Start-up transfer NRW support start-ups from universities.

Since 2022, space-related start-ups (less than five years old) based in NRW have had the opportunity to apply for a place at the ESA Business Incubation Centre North Rhine-Westphalia (ESA BIC NRW). The start-ups receive up to €50,000 in funding, along with management support and workshops. Further details on the programme

The NMWP NRW cluster focusses on hardware-based, scalable high-tech start-ups in the field of nano- and microtechnologies, materials and photonics.

The Center für Nanotechnologie CeNTech Münster (CeNTech) offers support to start-ups in the field of nanotechnology.

The Centre for Organic Electronics Cologne (ZOEK) offers special services for developments in the field of organic and printed electronics.

The CAT Catalytic Center incubator at RWTH Aachen University promotes start-ups in the field of green chemistry and engineering.

The BIO.NRW network – The home of Biotech supports start-ups from the academic environment through to company foundation and initial financing.

The EnergyAgency.NRW supports start-ups in their realisation of innovative business models. The new Innovationplatform.NRW makes networking easier for start-ups, as well as those in the business and science sectors.

With the AI Accelerator Programme of the DWNRW-Hubs, we are promoting an intensive funding programme tailored to start-ups with a focus on artificial intelligence.

As part of the Energieforschungsoffensive.NRW (energy research offensive) programme, start-ups from the energy sector are supported in the networking of science and industry and in the search for suitable funding providers.

The H2UB is Europe's leading open innovation platform for the entire hydrogen value chain and supports founders with accelerator programmes, targeted matchmaking with industry partners and investors, as well as networking events.

The “Go-to-Market Voucher” funding programme offers start-ups up to €35,000 in grants to create a prototype of their product.

Further support

With the NRW.BANK.Venture Center, NRW.BANK offers technology-oriented start-ups from universities and research institutions, as well as newly founded, innovative start-ups, a specialised advisory centre for financing. The NRW.SeedCap programme is one of the special funding opportunities for the start-up and growth financing of technology-oriented start-ups. This programme doubles the funding for business angels with amounts ranging from €15,000 to €100,000.

In addition, the Federal Ministry of Economics supports innovative technology-oriented or knowledge-based start-ups from universities and non-university research institutes with the EXIST start-up grant and research transfer programmes.