I D E A S , P O S I T I O N S , D E B A T E S W W W . D E U T S C H L A N D . D E 2 0 2 2 E N G E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E BET TER WORK – NEW IDEA S Ideas for a sustainable future

E D I T O R I A L Bet ter work – new ideas Dear Readers, The pandemic has accelerated change in the world of work. Working from home, remote work, job sharing and coworking were once restricted to a privileged minority, but are now increasingly becoming part of everyday life – and not only in Germany. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO has described this develop- ment as a “large-scale experiment into the digitisation of work and collaboration”. Where is it heading? Jutta Allmendinger, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, gives us her views on the subject. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, puts these developments into context. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft opens its laboratories of the future and shows what we can expect in terms of new technology. And Rafael Laguna de la Vera, Director of the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, is working on major breakthroughs. Accompany us on the path into the future! Yours sincerely, The Editors D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

14 B E T T E R W O R K – N E W I D E A S 06 08 12 14 Facts and figures: labour market, sustainability and innovation Interview: Robert Habeck, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, discusses bringing economy and ecology together Profile: new ways of working at Mowomind Intro: the rapid change in the world of work and its consequences 20 Profile: diversity at Fintiba 22 Interview: Jutta Allmendinger, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, discusses “new work” and “good work” 46 26 Profile: job sharing at DB Schenker 28 Essay: Markus Väth, pioneer of the New Work movement, on origins and latest developments 32 Report: sustainable agriculture in Benin with German support 36 Profile: purpose at Alnatura 38 46 50 Report: a look inside Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft’s laboratories of the future Feature: housing, working and living in the cities of tomorrow Interview: Rafael Laguna de la Vera, Director of the Federal Agency for Dis- ruptive Innovation, talks about major innovations before their breakthrough R E G U L A R S 03 Editorial 54 Imprint D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the United Nations agency con- cerned with work and social standards. Ger- many unreservedly supports its goals, such as decent work and social security. The country is the fourth largest contributor and has a permanent seat on its Governing Body. The most recent example of the implemen- tation of ILO proposals is the Supply Chain Act, which comes into effect in 2023. S TA R T U P S BY S EC TO R Information & Communications Technology Medical & Health Sector Food & Beverages/ Consumer Goods Automotive & Transport/ Logistics 2021 30.5% 10.6% 9.8% 6.6% Banking & Finance/ Insurance 4.7% Construction & Real Estate 3.7% Education 3.5% 10,45 E U RO will be the statutory minimum hourly wage rate in Germany from July 2022. The minimum wage was first introduced on 1 January 2015, when it was 8.50 euros per hour. It applies to all employees with very few exceptions – for example, for apprentices. On the other hand, however, there is an apprenticeship guarantee for all school leavers in Germany. In addition to the statutory minimum wage, many sectors also have a minimum wage that is negotiated between trade unions and employers. Extract, source: www.deutschestartups.org INTERNATIONAL SPECIALISTS Government and industry agree that Germany needs more workers. That is why immigration is being made easier. A points-based sys- tem is intended to facilitate entry for jobseekers. It will also be eas- ier to have educational and pro- fessional qualifications recognised. Opportunities will be increased for stays to participate in qualification schemes. In future, naturalisation will become possible after only three or five years. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

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Work will also change with the economy: what will people in traditional blue-collar occupations do in future – for example, the excavator driver in the coalmine or the exhaust fitter in the car factory? New business models and technologies can create not only climate-neutral prosperity, but also de- cent jobs. The underlying structural transform- ation will certainly lead to certain occupations dying out. At the same time, however, totally new occupations are arising and they will also often be followed by a corresponding demand for skilled personnel. Paradoxically, depending on the re- spective region and sector, we’ll be able to simul- taneously observe surpluses and shortages of skilled labour; in fact, that is in part already the case today. The great challenge will be in retrain- ing the people that previously did jobs that will no longer be needed in the future as promptly as pos- sible so they can assume new duties elsewhere. Further training and skills development thus play a very central role here. Bearing in mind demographic change, will the retrainees from declining industries be enough to meet labour market demand? Prognoses normally always entail a certain amount of uncertainty, and this uncertainty increases the further into the future you look. In the case of demographic change, however, the forecasts are in fact relatively reliable: we know how many people were born in a particular year and based on this we can make very good assumptions on how many people will be active in the labour market several decades ahead. Using these studies as a basis, we in the Federal Government assume that Germany will require more immigration of labour. That’s why we have resolved to improve immigration law. From blue collar to white collar – the corona- virus has accelerated many developments in how we work, including working from home and online meetings. What does this new world of work mean for climate action? It’s not possible to carry out every kind of work at home. And that will also certainly remain the case in future. Nevertheless, the pandemic has shown how much is actually already possible today in this area, when necessary. If people increasingly work from home, that has various consequences. Among other things, we saw fewer rush-hour traf- fic jams and fewer business trips being under- taken. And if that results in fewer people driving to work every day by car or a decrease in the num- ber of business flights, for example, then of course that can also contribute to climate action. What significance do new ways of working have for the German economy? Are they just a buzzword or are they becoming a reality? Companies are doing everything they can to become the most attractive possible employers when com- peting for the best brains. This naturally also involves offering employees flexible working models. There are already large numbers of skilled employees to- day that face a labour market situation in which they can freely choose between various job offers. Some of these specialists will not only decide on who to work for on the basis of the respective pay offer, but take into account additional criteria – for example, aspects such as climate action and sustain- ability. To that extent, busi- nesses that take climate ac- tion seriously will also be able to score points on the labour market when com- peting with other employers. D R R O B E R T H A B E C K The Vice Chancellor and Federal Min- ister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action was born in Lübeck in 1969. In 2009 he was elected to the State Par- liament of Schleswig-Holstein for the first time as a Member for the Greens. From 2012 to 2018 he was Deputy Minister President there. He resigned from this office when he became Co-Chair of the Greens with Annalena Baerbock, the present Federal Foreign Minister. In conclusion, let’s take a look into the crystal ball – where do you see the Ger- man economy in the year 2030? It’s very clear to me that the position of the German economy in 2030 will de- pend very decisively on how we use and shape the coming months and years. Climate action is a challenge that can allow us to grow, and I sense a broad readiness to finally get to grips with this now. At the same time we must also not lose sight of the enormous challenges that arise from demographic change and that will clearly manifest themselves on the labour market by the middle of the decade at the latest. If we do noth- ing, demographic trends will increasingly stifle our growth potentials. To address this we will have to provide good answers in terms of a social-eco- logical market economy. The plans agreed by the “traffic-light coalition” point in the right direc- tion. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

Already an option: remote work from all over the world D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

TThe fourth industrial revolution is in full swing. Net- working and digitalisation are changing the world of work like never before. Old occupations are disap- pearing, new ones emerging. Companies are stream- lining their structures to be able to survive against global competition. And workers themselves are in- creasingly asking themselves the questions: how do I want to work? And what value does work have in my life? The pandemic has proved to be a driver of this development. What was previously restricted to a privileged minority is now almost considered stand- ard practice. Working from home, remote work, job sharing and coworking are key concepts in the new world of work. Also not to be overlooked is “pur- pose”, which gives work greater meaning. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO speaks of a “large-scale experiment into the digitisa- tion of work and collaboration”. Impact on mobility and urbanisation This change is also influencing other megatrends, such as urbanisation and mobility. Stefan Rief, Head of the Organisational Development and Work De- sign Research Unit at Fraunhofer IAO, predicts: “More and more people will stay away from their places of work for longer periods. Making the jour- ney there is becoming a conscious decision. And liv- ing and working in the country could again become an attractive option for many.” But not for everyone, as Katharina Rath, Member of the Board of Man- agement for Human Resources at the logistics group DB Schenker, points out. “One third of our work- force works in warehouses and terminals. Working from home is not an option at all for them.” In this D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

New trend: combining life and work There is no single answer to the trans- formation of the world of work, but a whole range of solutions. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

DIVERSITY Bastian Krieghoff and team F I N T I B A “Diversity is in our DNA,” says Bastian Krieghoff about the team at Fintiba, the fintech startup he founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2016. He and his staff make it easier for young people from outside Europe to gain access to a university course in Germany. “Origin, skin colour, gender and religion play no role here at all,” says Krieghoff. “We take care of visas, accounts, health insurance and everything else you otherwise need for a stay in Germany.” Bastian Krieghoff has first-hand experi- ence of the effort involved in moving to a foreign country. The idea for Fintiba grew out of this ex- perience and his background in banking. Today his company benefits from the multilingualism and intercultural knowledge of his 45 employees from 15 countries. “This has already enabled us to re- move many obstacles and find individual solutions for the meanwhile over 150,000 young people from nearly 190 countries who have come to Germany with our support.”

J U T T A A L L M E N D I N G E R “It’s definitely not a case of one or the other” The sociologist Jutta Allmendinger began studying changes in the world of work before the coronavirus pandemic. The President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center discusses “new ways of working” and “good work”. I N T E R V I E W C A R S T E N H A U P T M E I E R Professor Allmendinger, when new forms of work are mentioned many people probably ini- tially only think of working from home. Is this view of new ways of working accurate or is it misleading because it blocks out the industrial work world? Both. Working from home has experienced an enormous boom during the pandemic. Many people with occupations and duties that can ba- sically be carried out at home have for many months only rarely travelled to their normal workplaces. I experience that very much at first hand: many employees of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center come to the institute to eat to- gether or simply to talk. Many do most of their work at home. That’s new. And accordingly the administrative managing director and I have to manage the centre differently. This requires flex­ ible work organisation, greater resources and a significant increase in communication to main­ tain the vibe of the institution. But be careful: here we are talking about at most 25% of all em­ ployees nationwide that are able to work from home. Everyone else has to be on the spot: in in­ dustrial plants, in hospitals and care homes, in supermarkets and department stores, in restau­ rants and in agriculture. That’s often overlooked. How do you define “new ways of working”? For me, new ways of working is an umbrella term for all those developments that leave traditions behind. Working from home is one of them, but so are working with robots providing on­site care, high­tech work processes in industry and work on platforms. New ways of working do not only “ Mo s t p e o p l e c o n s i d e r a m e a n i n g f u l j o b m o re i m p o r t a n t t h a n pa y.” impact the scope and activities of work alone; they also involve the new organisation of work with more flexible forms of leadership. At the WZB you focus on the subject of “good work”. When is work good? There are many definitions of good work. At the WZB we have chosen the index defined by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) as a basis. Accordingly, good work is shaped, among other things, by adequate resources and develop­ ment opportunities for employees, a reasonable income, a secure job and codetermination rights. In any event, gainful employment remains very important for most people, as studies by the WZB have also shown. But under what circum- stances do people consider their work meaning- ful? What roles do money and work-life balance play? Most people consider a meaningful job in an en­ vironment where they are appreciated to be more important than pay. Our legacy study, which the WZB carried out jointly with the weekly news­ paper Die Zeit and the infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences, shows this very clearly: many people would even go to work if they didn’t need any money. And reconciling work and family life is extremely important – above all, for parents and people who have to care for family members. In the case of many young people too, however, we see that although they consider their careers important, they don’t want to expend all their en­ ergies on their jobs, but have time for their pri­ vate lives. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

them of new developments. Prevention is the key word. We should not first wait for someone to be­ come unemployed before we invest in improving their knowledge. We should act proactively and keep at it. That’s already succeeding rather well in some areas of the health sector – think of medical check­ups, for example. The change in the world of work is inextricably tied up with the coronavirus pandemic. In De- cember 2020, at the end of the first coronavirus year, you wrote in an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “Once the virus is under con- trol again, almost everything will go back to the way it was before.” Do you still see it that way? I consider digitalisation and overall technological development to be the drivers of new forms of work. The pandemic has only accelerated develop­ ments in a country that has problems with so­ cial­technological progress. To that extent I hope very much that my forecast comes true: people will join together, talk to one another in person and be curious about one another. Working from home and online meetings have had an impact on many people during the pan- demic. Which of these changes will remain with us? Or is it desirable for people to return to the office? It’s definitely not a case of one or the other. Times spent at the workplace are essential. Offices and business premises were and are very important meeting places, centres of cooperation. We must protect them for the good of cohesion in our so­ ciety. Certainly, we’ll do many things more flexibly, more digitally and more locally in the future. Ul­ timately, however, if we have no physical presence at all at a shared place of work we will endanger the social cement that binds our country together. The pandemic has influenced working life in very different ways. While some have been able to work at home without a problem, the burden on families, for example, and often especially on mothers has been very profound. What social im- pacts has the pandemic had on working life? They’ve been huge; we know that. Dissatisfaction, stress and loneliness have increased. The social dif­ ferences between people who work at home and those who work in the workplace have increased. In addition to this there are the differing condi­ tions of mobile work itself. Employees who have a quiet, undisturbed and technologically well­ equipped workspace can conduct their work and, ultimately, their life in a completely different way from those who have to live in an apartment too small for working from home, to make do with a low income or to look after small children or par­ ents in need of care. The pandemic has presumably also strengthened the trend for work and private life to blend into one. Is it still important to separate these worlds – or is that an outdated idea? What kind of demar- cation can there be at all in a digital world? Once again: that applies to a minority of employ­ ees. Clear rules on when they can be contacted by employers are very important. Everybody needs self­determined periods of rest, otherwise they burn out. P R O F D R J U T T A A L L M E N D I N G E R The multiple award-winning sociologist has been President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and professor of educational sociology and labour market research at Humboldt-Universität since 2007. Before that she was Director of the Institute of Em- ployment Research; she has also worked as a re- searcher in both Germany and the USA. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

Brave new world of work The concept of New Work stems from the German-American social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann, who wanted to develop a counter model to socialism and capitalism in the 1980s. An essay by Markus Väth, a pioneer of today’s New Work movement, on the idea and its impacts. AA few years ago I saw a commercial on British tele­ vision: a German stands on a music hall stage tell­ ing jokes, and although he tries as hard as he can, no one laughs. Eventually the curtain falls – and the following sentence appears: “Germans are not famous for their humour – but for their cars.” As is the case in every good joke, the story revealed reality with a sly wink. We Germans are also equally famous – or perhaps infamous – for our thoroughness. That’s how the German language gives rise to the wonderful noun “Grundreini- gung”, an intensive clean. Perhaps it is due to this blend of thor- oughness and lack of humour, combined with a specific attitude to work, that a phenomenon called New Work is being studied, tested and dis- cussed especially intensely in Germany. Other na- tions are said to work to live. In Germany you sometimes get the impression that we live to work. That is why we Germans enthusiastically direct our attention towards everything associated with work. It was in Germany that industrial capital- ism first merged with the Protestant work ethic and here that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were the first to measure the depths and limita- tions of capitalism. The founder of New Work was also German-born – although he moved to Austria as a child. The so- cial philosopher Frithjof Bergmann grew up in Hallstatt, Austria, before migrating to the United States in 1949. There he eked out a living in a variety of jobs before studying philosophy and eventually becoming a professor of philosophy at the Univer- sity of Michigan in 1958. Although he retired in 1999, he remained active in and for the New Work movement until his death in 2021. He continued travelling a great deal, founding New Work centres worldwide and expressing his views on work policy and philosophical questions until the end. A social-utopian idea New Work is, if you will, a child of European philoso- phy. It was not the creation of a manager, a psych- ologist or a management consultant, but a social philosopher who wanted to create a utopia: a better work society in which humans do not exist for work, but work for humans; in which humans seek and find an activity that they “really, really want”. This aspiration, this labour-philosophical revolution is in- cidentally the reason for numerous misunderstand- ings associated with the New Work idea today. You can only understand the concept of New Work if you take a closer look at Bergmann as a person. His family was persecuted by the National Socialists; his mother even feigned suicide to manage to escape from Austria. All this gave rise to the young Bergmann’s desire to make the world a better place, to fight against external control and fascism. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

scenarios have become rare, and there is a prevail- ing mood of climate anxiety, COVID exhaustion and the threat of an increasingly complex, con- flict-ridden world. All this does not only call so- cietal freedoms into question, but also paralyses people’s will to reach for their own freedom and self-responsibility – not only as a complete hu- man being, but also as a working person. People prefer to withdraw into known territory, stream TV series on the couch every evening or remain within their small envelope of responsibility in the firm. Security becomes the purpose of a fear- ful society, a motive that outshines all others. But if you abandon freedom to gain security, eventu- ally you lose both – Benjamin Franklin knew that. New Work could thus actually regain its social-utopian message, al- though in a new sense: we should no longer restrict the motive of freedom and responsibility to work. Work that you really, really want cannot flourish in an unfree, angst-ridden society. New Work calls for a “new society” that is dedicated to the values of freedom, self-responsibility and social responsi- bility, that supports the common good, revolutionises education and sees itself as an optimistic-innovative society. historically have also given rise to some­ times very different schools of thought. On one hand, this diversity of ideas en­ riches the intellectual debate; on the other, it makes it difficult for practition- ers to approach the subject of New Work in a structured way. That is why a conceptual offering was made in 2019 for both theoreticians and practitioners in the shape of the New Work Charter. It aimed to combine the so- cial-utopian element with the economy, the fun- damental idea of the work that you really, really want with needs of a corporate organisation. This was an advance, say some; a betrayal, say others. However, the most important aspect of New Work that continues from Bergmann to the New Work Charter lies in the emphasis on free- dom for human existence and finding meaningful activity. In the same way as a company or a soci- ety, a human being must use his or her freedom, remove the shackles of self-inflicted immaturity and develop boldly following the idea of a better future. The Enlightenment teaches us nothing less. Perhaps, however, that is also the great problem of today’s New Work: hopeful future The most important aspect of New Work that continues from Bergmann to the New Work Charter lies in the emphasis on freedom for human existence and finding mean- ingful activity. The current state of debate shows how far removed we are from such a situation. Suddenly during a pandemic the rampant spread of work- ing from home is meant to constitute New Work – as does a fruit basket or new office furniture. These kinds of re- duced definitions not only have nothing to do with New Work, but also dis- credit many companies’ serious endeav- ours to fill New Work with life – with their own New Work teams, with some- times great networking across corporate divides, with a new appreciation of working people and with targeted experiments on hierarchy, leader- ship and cooperation. To a large degree, New Work has moved away from the utopian ideas of Frithjof Berg- mann. But it is beginning to change into some- thing new. Let us give New Work a chance to improve the nature of work. New Work is not only the opportunity to revolutionise the world of work. New Work can help us as a society to look into the future, to seize our opportunity and leave our children a better world. Isn’t that worth the effort? MARKUS VÄTH is considered one of the leading thinkers in the modern New Work movement in Germany. He is author of the New Work Charter and associate lecturer for New Work and or- ganisation development at Nuremberg Institute of Technology. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

Mouhamed Awali Djibril (centre) is the intermediary be- tween farmers, solar equipment firm BRCE and the GIZ from Germany. Harvesting outside the traditional harvest period: solar energ y-powered irrigation makes it economically viable. T The air is dry and dusty. The sun here in northern Benin is barely visible behind the clouds. The Harmattan, a northeasterly wind from the Sahara, is blowing. At night the temperatures fall below 20 degrees Celsius. It has not rained for months, and in many places the ground is rock-hard. On the fields of the Alafia Wanru farm in Mareborou, however, one tomato plant stands next to another. Benin’s most popular and most important vege- table is grown here on 30 hectares of leased land. At the end of January, however, not many ripe red fruits are to be seen. It’s not the right time for cultivating tomatoes, which need large quan- tities of water. Nevertheless, according to Estache W Adje, Technical Director at the farm, “We har- vest an average of 1,750 kilos per day.” He nods his head with satisfaction. Some 100 metres away from the 25-year-old manager three women are carrying full buckets to blue weighing scales. Five large woven baskets are already standing there, each weighing 35 kilos. They are ready for trans- port to the market where there they will currently fetch a price equivalent to between 7.60 and 9 euros each. Tomato cultivation outside the season is made possible by four solar-powered pumps and an irrigation system. Adje kneels down and shows a black tube with tiny holes. This is how all the plants here are supplied with water. It’s a great de- velopment for all those growing tomatoes here – farmers can lease one or several hectares and pay 10 to 20% of the harvest. Adje, who has worked for the farm since 2018, also remembers very well how arduous and costly cultivation used to be. He indicates a point in the distance: “That’s where the well is.” It is the centrepiece of the farm. Previously, however, a diesel generator was required to pump water. “An employee came very early each morning, turned it on and had to check regularly that everything was working.” The generator had to run for eight hours at a time and swallowed up enormous sums of money for fuel. “Some days we paid over 70,000 CFA francs,” recalls Adje. That is the equivalent of almost 110 euros, more than the monthly income of a cleaner or a day labourer. Of course the farm was constantly dependent on die- sel deliveries. That led to further problems because of frequent supply shortages. In a nutshell: “It wasn’t cost-effective at all,” sums up the technical director. Farming is possible without diesel The fact that agriculture can be done differently was eventually demonstrated by neighbours who had solar panels installed for their irrigation sys- tem on an area of a few hectares. The people at Alafia Wanru saw that the system worked and could also be deployed on a large scale. They made contact with BRCE. Founded in 2002, the firm has its office in Parakou, Benin’s third largest city, which is situated just under seven hours by car from the port metropolis of Cotonou. Many solar companies have their headquarters there. BRCE works in the entire northern part of the country and offers not only the installation of solar en- ergy-powered pumps, but also the sale of com- plete solar kits. These small sets include a solar panel, a battery, cables and fittings for several lamps, which can bring electric light to villages that are D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

N E W W A Y S O F W O R K I N G I N A G R I C U LT U R E Innovative Farmers Synergies between top-down and bottom-up innovations accelerate sustainable growth and improved food supply in Africa, says Oliver Kirui, researcher at ZEF, University of Bonn. I N T E R V I E W A R N D F E S T E R L I N G How is the readiness for technical and digital in- novation in Africa’s agriculture? Africa is increasingly emphasising the role of in­ novation in development. Recent evidence suggests that there is considerable progress in the adoption of technical, institutional and systemic innovations in the agricultural sector across the continent. This has contributed to the social, economic, and tech- nological progress among farming households over the last decade. There is great potential and the syn- ergy between top-down innovations (originating from research institutions) and bottom-up (ori- ginating from farmers themselves) – to ensure sus- tainable agricultural growth and to improvement of food and nutrition security. What does successful innovation in agriculture depend on? There are drivers of innovation: The digital revolu- tion has enabled many farmers to access informa- tion across the agricultural and food value chains – such as price information, input and ouput mar- ket situations etc. The growing digital fiance is also another factor that has driven access to necessary capital to enable farmers and other value chain ac- tors to engage in farming and value chain activities in a more robust way. The need to adapt to and mitigate climate change is also another significant driver. On the other hand, what circumstances and in- fluences hinder innovation? Main constraint to innovation is the limited access to proper agricultural education and training and technology. Farmers lack access or have low possi- bilities to capacity building initiatives that would have empowered them to become self-sufficient in food supply. The impact of climate change – wea ther variability and extreme weather events – has had devastating effects on farmers. Gains from innov- ations are lost almost entirely. Small-scale farmers do not have the resources or ability to mitigate or pro- tect themselves from the effects of climate change. So climate change is as well a driver of Innovation as it hinders it. The other significant obstacle is lack of access to suitable agricultural finance and market ac- cess. Gains from technical innovations must be ac- companied by other innovations in order for the small scale farmers to reap from the benefits of the innovations on farm. The policies generally as we see in different states – land, market, and financial poli- cies – had significant influence on the growth and innovation of the small scale sector in Africa. How are innovations changing people’s working lives in Africa’s agriculture? There are several studies and evidence from pro- grams across different value chains that show that the adoption of agricultural innovations has had positive and significant effect on farm production and household welfare concerning incomes and nu- trition among others. How does the world may benefit from the welfare of African farmers? African farmers are innovative and require support to scale up proven innovations in the agri-food sec- tor. By building the capacity and also supporting the investments in agricultural and food sector innov- ations, the world would help Africa meet sev eral Sus- tainable Development Goals (SDGs). DR OLIVER KIRUI works as Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

PURPOSE Anke Pavlicek A L N AT U R A Anke Pavlicek is attracted to the outdoors. She wants to work with her hands in a natural setting and do something meaningful. There’s certainly enough to do at the new Alnatura Campus in Darmstadt. The agricultural engineer whose speciality is ecological farming has been responsible for the cultivation and management of the five-hectare grounds since Germany’s largest organic food retailer relocated to its award-winning adobe building in 2019. In other words, she is in charge of the large pond, a small pristine copse, the enormous organic garden and all creatures great and small on the site. Few people would have given up a secure job as an agricultural expert at the State Parliament of Hesse to farm a former military site organically in all weathers. But Anke Pavlicek sees her work as much more than just a job. She also wants to raise awareness of nature among her col- leagues at the corporate headquarters. “Once a year I take everyone out into the grounds to teach practical skills. Next we will build and hang up nesting boxes. Afterwards people see them every differently.”

F R A U N H O F E R - G E S E L L S C H A F T Innovative and globally networked Whether airbag or MP3 format, quantum computing or green hydrogen, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has been world famous for decades when it comes to research and innovation in key technologies. T E X T T I M S C H R Ö D E R D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

Closer look at a balloon catheter: Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft also works in the field of medical tech- nolog y. Fraunhofer technolog y on the ISS: sensors aim to measure drought stress in plants from the space station. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

no use to us. This means that our energy policy and our energy supply solutions must make further progress.” The goal is to achieve energy sovereignty with neighbours in the European Union. Hydrogen, fuel of the future That is why hydrogen is a big topic at present. Ac­ cording to Mario Ragwitz, the Speaker of the Fraun­ hofer Hydrogen Network, 35 institutes are working in this area. “The amazing thing is that we cover the entire value chain from the production of hydrogen to its transportation to consumers,” says Ragwitz. Among other things, the FhG has electrolysis la­ boratories that are optimising the production of hy­ drogen. Then there are laboratories working on the further development of fuel cells that convert hydro­ gen into electrical current. There are also teams re­ searching ways of automating the production of fuel cells, because they are still mainly manufactured by hand, which would be too expensive and too slow for the future mass use of hydrogen. In its search for solutions, the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU has created an extraordinary research apparatus: a car called the Sil­ ver Bumblebee. It is based on 1940s designs for a racing car that was never built. The researchers have now resurrected the car and fitted it with a fuel­cell drive unit that they can use to test new concepts and components. Advancing solutions for the energy supply of the future Researchers focus on the prerequisites for a stable electricity supply in a multi-megawatt laboratory. Where can hydrogen most help the energy transi­ tion? It is very practical questions like these that the Fraunhofer researchers always have in mind. Mario Ragwitz believes it makes sense to use hydrogen for applications where there are other­ wise practically no green alternatives and where carbon­dioxide emissions can be massively re­ duced. That applies above all to the chemical and steel sectors, shipbuilding as well as air traffic and heavy-duty transport. In the steel industry, for ex- ample, huge quantities of coal are used today to smelt pig iron. The FhG is developing a process that uses hydrogen as fuel in cooperation with the steel producer Salzgitter AG and other partners in the SALCOS project. Mario Ragwitz sounds a fundamental note of caution about the use of hydrogen: “A hydrogen economy will only function, however, when we are able to transport the gas.” And with reference to the Fraunhofer­Gesellschaft he adds: “We have the necessary competence for that – both with regard to infrastructure planning and materials science knowledge.” During the last ten years the FhG has al­ ways been one of the ten to 20 largest applicants for patents at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Over the years many patents have been transformed into business ideas. Numerous firms have been spun off, and at the beginning of 2022 the FhG held shares in 86 enterprises. The annual D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

worldwide are working on the development of the quantum computer, which can complete certain tasks much faster than conventional computers. This new kind of computer will be able to solve complex mathematical problems. For example, chemical and pharmaceutical companies could use quantum com­ puters to develop and research complex new molecu­ lar structures. Quantum communication, on the other hand, would be especially suitable for securing data transmissions in banks and insurance companies because it automatically detects whether information has been accessed by hackers. Future-oriented quantum computers Many of the foundations for these applications are currently being laid at Fraunhofer. This work also includes a collaboration with IBM. In 2019 the company presented the IBM Q System One, one of the first quantum computers that could be used out­ side a laboratory environment. A consortium of seven Fraunhofer institutes has now been using it in Germany for several months. “We want to find out which applications it’s suitable for,” says Manfred Hauswirth, Executive Director at Fraunhofer FOKUS in Berlin. “That’s because it definitely won’t completely replace the conventional computer – it will be used to solve specific complex problems.” First of all, appropriate algorithms had to be devel­ oped in order to be able to program and use the quantum computer at all in everyday situations. Making the quantum computer usable is a huge task in which many partners will have to collaborate. “In Germany we’re in a very good pos­ ition in that respect,” emphasises Andreas Tünner­ mann, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena. “One special feature of research in our coun­ try is the system of collaborative research that funds the development of new technologies over many years” – especially technologies whose suc­ cess is not yet foreseeable. Small and medium­sized enterprises could not take investment risks of this kind alone – thanks to government support, how­ ever, they are able to work with research institu­ tions. The FhG has participated in many of these collaborative projects. “And it has done so over long periods,” says Tünnermann. “Collaborative projects of this kind can last more than ten years – and then deliver amazing results.” Thanks to this staying power many Fraun­ hofer ideas have become success stories in the over 70 years since the organisation’s foundation in 1949 – for example, the MP3 format, which took many years of development and was eventually able to assert its position as the global standard. T H E F R A U N H O F E R W O R L D T h e h e a d q u a r t e r s i n M u n i c h a n d f a c i l i t i e s w o r l d w i d e G ÖT E B O R G G L A S G OW B O L Z A N O D U B L I N B R U S S E L S M U N I C H M O S COW V I E N N A G R A Z E R CO L A N O B U DA P E S T L AVO N B E I J I N G S EO U L TO K YO E A S T L A N S I N G B R O O K L I N E P LY M O U T H N E WA R K P O R TO S A N J O S É R I V E R DA L E S ÃO PAU LO P R E TO R I A S A N T I AG O D E C H I L E S T E L L E N B O S C H Source: Fraunhofer B A N G A LO R E A M PA N G S I N G A P O R E D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

The new urban neighbourhood in Winnenden features vegetables on roofs and tradespeople in courtyards . No development without greenery: Gleisbogenpark in Stuttgart Rosenstein AAn urban area that aims to become a global model is being created not in Berlin or New York, but in the small town of Winnenden not far from Stutt­ gart. In the municipality with 30,000 inhabitants in southwestern Germany planning is underway for a district where housing, shops, offices, work­ shops and industrial plants will be located a few streets apart. “Productive City Region” is the name of the project that breaks with a widely ac­ cepted principle: the separation of work, housing and leisure. In particular, industrial facilities are still usually located far away from towns. The project arose within the framework of the International Building Exhibition 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart (IBA’27), which focuses on the question: “How will we live and work in the digital and global age?” One answer is provided by the design for the area in Winnenden, which won an award in an urban development competition. It involves a “novel combination of industry, trade, housing and leisure,” says IBA Artistic Di­ rector Andreas Hofer. “I know of no other ex­ ample worldwide where that is being realised in this way.” Hofer believes a general rethink of urban develop­ ment is required: “The principle still applies that living, working and leisure should take place at different locations. But that’s a false principle, be­ cause the reason for it no longer exists.” It dates back to the advent of industrialisation 150 years ago “when factories stank and made lots of dirt,” says the Swiss architect and IBA Artistic Director. The end of the remote industrial area The consequences of this separation are far­reach­ ing. It has not only led to housing and workplaces often being kilometres apart; in Hofer’s opinion, the separation also often contributes to the fact that “today’s residential areas and industrial zones are incredibly boring”. In contrast, the designs for the district in Winnenden by Jott, the Frankfurt­based architectural office, promise a completely different feeling of life: there are vegetable beds on roofs and workshops in inner courtyards, greenhouses stand between apartment buildings and the local café and neighbourhood square are only a block from the tradespeople’s yard and production centre. Hofer also points out that industrial es­ tates and housing areas are both only built to fulfil one purpose. If more housing is suddenly required, however, you cannot turn to industrial zones to solve the problem. “The result is huge vacant areas. That’s no way to design a city of the future,” says the Artistic Director of the International Building Exhibition. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

architectural office that contributed to the logis­ tics study. The reason? In several years, when fewer parking spaces are required, it will be almost im­ possible to repurpose a facility of this kind. “That’s why urban planning is again increasingly warming to the idea of the multi­storey car park, an other­ wise long frowned upon element,” says Flam­ mann. Cafés, co­working spaces or local work­ shops could also be built in a “Car Park 2.0”. “And if car parks are no longer required, a conver­ sion to new uses would be easier to realise,” says the architect. How well buildings and transport struc­ tures can be adapted will probably become a cen­ tral issue for the cities of the future. “Flexibility will be very important,” says Flammann. “Today in urban planning our thinking should be less spe­ cialised and much more flexible.” And when it comes to sustainability, the architect emphasises: “Now, once again, we must create buildings that last at least 100 years.” Examples of liveable cities The creatives engaged in the International Building Exhibition in Stuttgart do not only want to produce designs on the drawing board; they actually aim to build exemplary urban areas in the coming years. “We want to be able to say later that we didn’t just talk, but transformed ideas into reality,” says IBA Artistic Director Hofer. In a few years, he hopes, people in Winnenden and Stuttgart will be able to “physically experience houses and urban quarters for a climate­friendly and humane future.” Stuttgart is planning a new district where a local hub will offer space for mobility, logistics or culture. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

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D I S R U P T I V E I N N O V A T I O N S H I G H - A L T I T U D E W I N D T U R B I N E S Horst Bendix expects ten times the performance of today’s best wind power systems from high-altitude wind turbines because the winds blow stronger and more continuously at greater heights. That is why the en- gineer has designed a system with the generator at the base of the struc- ture driven by a belt pulley. This makes possible a hub height of 250 metres for a structure of the same weight. The tower will consist of standard steel tubes to reduce the overall cost, and a turntable at the base will ensure the system faces into the wind in the optimum direction. A N T I - A L Z H E I M E R ’ S D R U G Professor Dieter Willbold is pursuing a new approach in Alzheimer’s research. The biologist explains that when harmless single proteins (monomers) clump together in the brain and become toxic bundles (oligomers), you need to administer an active ingredient that can en- sure the monomer structure is stabilised and the oligomers are separat- ed into harmless monomers. He has developed precisely this active ingredient, which has already proved its worth in the test tube and in animal trials. A Phase I clinical study has also been successfully com- pleted. A Phase II study on Alzheimer’s patients is set to begin in 2023. M I C R O F L O T A T I O N According to Roland Damann, “microflotation” is the solution to the problem of microplastics in the world’s oceans. This new water treat- ment technology works as follows: microscopically small air bubbles are injected into the water. Virtually all the solid particles in the water attach to these bubbles and rise with them to the surface, where the layer of dirt can simply be removed using a suction device. The en- gineer has already been able to extract 99.7% of plastic particles in water from the river Weser. A N A L O G U E C O M P U T E R S Because digital computers are increasingly reaching their physical limits and consume very large amounts of energy, Bernd Ulmann wants to revive the analogue computer. It works in a similar way to the human brain, which can process enormous amounts of data but con- sumes hardly any more energy than a 30-watt lightbulb. The computer scientist is currently developing an analogue computer chip on which individual circuits are freely configurable. The installation will continue to be controlled using a digital computer that combines with the ana- logue computer to form a hybrid system. D E U T S C H L A N D E D I T I O N 2 0 2 2

I N B O N N O N L I N E & JUNE 20–21, 2022 Shaping tomorrow, now The 15th DW Global Media Forum will explore opportunities to foster resilient journalism in times of crisis and capacitate civil societies for the future. N E W S L E T T E R Stay up-to-date on the international and interdisciplinary conference hosted by DW. dw.com/gmf #dw_gmf dw.gmf DW_GMF DWGlobalMediaForum DW Global Media Forum M A I N P A R T N E R S C O - H O S T E D B Y P U B L I C P A R T N E R S