Calling all startups: Apply for the Future Hamburg Award by March 31

24 March 2021

Innovative concepts for the city of tomorrow wanted - Plug and Play Expo Day on March 26

Founders all over the world with business models focusing on sustainably raising the standard of living in terms of transport, logistics or green hydrogen now have until the deadline of March 31, 2021 to apply (here) for the Future Hamburg Award. Presented by the City of Hamburg, the award honours smart solutions for the city of tomorrow. Cities all over the world face similar challenges of ever-growing traffic, rising emissions and they lack plots of land and basically space. More and more innovative concepts are needed to tackle these developments.

Plug and Play Expo Day on March 26

The Plug and Play Expo Day on March 26, 2021 from 12 noon offers applicants an opportunity to delve deeper into the topics highlighted by the award. Jury members such as Dr Ralf Belusa (CDO, Hapag Lloyd), Jörg Debus (CDO/CoS, Shell) or Markus Sontheimer (CIO/CDO DB Schenker) will be on hand. "The Future Hamburg Award enables great startups to open the door to the world and be successful within an economically strong, lovable and sustainable city," said Belusa.

Local and international support for startups

As the main partner of the Future Hamburg Award, the Plug and Play Tech Center gives the winning startup access to its international accelerator programme in California's Silicon Valley for one month. The Hamburg Port Authority's innovation campus, homePORT, and Am Hafen Capital GmbH, a major Hanseatic venture capital company, are also involved in the award. The local partners provide substantial funding for innovative start-ups and enable them to realise test models in the Port of Hamburg.

Future Hamburg Award as launching pad

"Via the Future Hamburg Award, we offer founders a unique opportunity to gain access to Europe's premium test fields for new products and to develop their business models in Silicon Valley. We above all give startups an opportunity to test their innovative solutions at one of our partners in Hamburg and to forge contacts to key stakeholders," said Veronika Reichboth, Head of Hamburg Invest's Start-up Unit, which is among the initiators of the Future Hamburg Award.
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