Hackathon results published

The results of the GSR Hackathon 2025 were published in a special issue of the journal Der Betriebswirt . The articles provide new insights into green start-ups, including their identification and financing, as well as gender-specific differences in access to financing.

From the team at the professorship for Innovation Management and Sustainability (PIN), Prof. Dr Klaus Fichter, Dr Thomas Neumann, Tim Grothey and Nina Heiting contributed to the published articles.

Further information and the articles from the special issue can be found here

21 September 2026

Best-practice analysis of transfer indicators

Knowledge transfer and co-operation – the so-called ‘Third Mission’ – are becoming increasingly important for research, particularly in relation to the complex issue of the energy transition.

The Lower Saxony Energy Research Centre (efzn) wishes to better track and manage its knowledge transfer activities. The aim of the analysis was therefore to develop a practical efzn knowledge transfer barometer based on best-practice examples.

The barometer is intended as an application-oriented tool that helps to plan projects with an impact-oriented approach from the outset, to learn from transfer activities, and to support the securing of resources and funding through demonstrable successes.

For further information, the full analysis is available for download here.

20 August 2026

New ‘Resilience Competence’ project launched

The energy transition is making the energy system more efficient, but also more complex and therefore more vulnerable to crises, whether caused by extreme weather, geopolitical tensions or cyber-attacks. The skills that specialists and managers need to deal with this have hardly been systematically investigated to date.

The six-month ‘Resilience Competence’ project was therefore launched on 1 August to identify the skills requirements of specialists and managers, as well as existing training programmes, with a view to ensuring resilient energy systems. 

The project is funded by the Lower Saxony Energy Research Centre (efzn). Further information can be found here.

3 August 2026

New study: Energy start-ups in Lower Saxony: An overview

In their new study, conducted as part of the TEN.efzn project, Klaus Fichter and Tim Grothey examine energy start-ups in Lower Saxony.

The study identifies 56 energy start-ups in Lower Saxony. This represents 5 per cent of all start-ups listed for Lower Saxony in the start-up database maintained by Start-up-Detector GmbH. 

According to the study, these are particularly common in the fields of electrical and thermal energy generation, as well as energy infrastructure, energy distribution and end-customer solutions.

73 per cent of these energy start-ups from Lower Saxony can be classified as ‘green’ in accordance with the Borderstep Institute’s Green Start-up Report and have high climate protection potential.

For further information, the full study is available for download here.

3 August 2026

New 'Impact Panel' project

We are delighted to be launching the new Impact Panel project. 

The aim of Impact Panel is to develop a monitoring system that can systematically measure the long-term environmental, economic and social impacts of start-ups. This will enable:

• start-ups’ contributions to sustainability be measurable in the long term and in a transparent manner
• Funding programmes, investments and support schemes to be more closely aligned with actual impact 
• Policymakers, funding bodies, investors and start-up stakeholders will receive more robust data for impact-driven decision-making
• Green start-ups and comparison groups be systematically examined and success factors better understood

The project is being developed by the Borderstep Institute in collaboration with the University of Oldenburg and is funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation.

Further information can be found here.

1 June 2026