18.12.2020

Today we can finally publish our biggest and most important announcement so far – Together with TUM International GmbH we are founding an innovation centre in the Jiangning Development Zone Nanjing! Now that Ms Hettinger and Mr Zhou have signed the founding contract, we want to explain how we will shape the future there, how we can bring science and industry together and why we are so proud of the cooperation.

Innovation Centre – what is it?

In the joint innovation centre, we want to research future-oriented technologies with which we can offer effective and sustainable solutions for industry, city administration and business partners. For this purpose, the Technical University of Munich contributes its research expertise through TUM International GmbH, while we ZD Automotive supplement this with our commercial know-how and implementation experience in industrial projects on the Chinese market. Together we will not only concentrate on demand-oriented and industry-related research activities, but we will also support start-ups in setting up companies in these fields and managing intellectual property.

In this regard, the innovation centre for both TUM International and ZD Automotive is the first of its kind in China.

Shaping the future together

The idea for the Innovation Centre arose from the fact that modern technologies are developing rapidly and we want to support entrepreneurs in using this potential. In the future, the innovation centre will become a vibrant ecosystem that is both a real laboratory and a business incubator. Companies, researchers and founders will be supported and promoted by the centre in the following areas: Big Data, cybersecurity, intelligent transport systems, smart cities, new materials and modern logistics solutions. The integration of other subject areas is, of course, a mission of the Innovation Centre.

We are already looking forward to the innovations, the progress created and the dynamic growth that we will create together with Technical University of Munich through the Innovation Centre in Nanjing.