The Planning and Construction competence center is the twentieth Mittelstand 4.0 competence center to be launched by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The majority of projects to date have been regional projects. Like the e-Standards and Textiles Networked competence centers launched in recent weeks, however, the Planning and Construction competence center has a predominately thematic focus. “With its rather piecemeal structure, the construction and real estate industry is faced with particular challenges here. That’s why we want to raise awareness and to provide support through target-group-specific information and training opportunities,” says German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries.

The ministry will be backing the work of this competence center over the next three years with approximately €5.2 million. The Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP is responsible for coordinating the center’s work; other partners include Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF and Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, the IfM – Small and Medium Sized Companies and Entrepreneurship at the University of Mannheim, and the eBusiness Competence Center for Planning and Building (eBZ) in Kaiserslautern. The new competence center therefore also has offices in Magdeburg, Mannheim, Oldenburg, and Holzkirchen.