– Project pitches
– Open networking session
Midlands Innovation, together with the University of Birmingham and the Invest in UK University R&D programme, invite you to meet a delegation of leading German researchers, entrepreneurs, and government-backed projects visiting Birmingham on 17–18 September 2025 as part of the Forum Digital Technologies (FDT) Roadshow. The delegation, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, represents six major research projects in GreenTech, sustainability, digital twins, and the circular economy, and is keen to connect with UK academics, industry collaborators, and spinouts. A networking event with project pitches will take place at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 18 September (10:00–12:00). Please see the attached for details on who will be attending, and register for the free event here: Click Here
We are looking to connect relevant academics in the Midlands Innovation partnership, along with industry collaborators, and spinout businesses with this delegation. This is a great opportunity to explore joint research, pilots, and innovation in GreenTech, sustainability, digital twins, and the circular economy.
About the Delegation
The Forum of Digital Technologies is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It supports cutting-edge research in digital and sustainable technologies, with a strong emphasis on real-world implementation and international knowledge exchange.
Delegates represent six major German research projects, covering topics such as:
– Green Digital Twins for the beverage industry
– Digital CO₂ Product Passports and lifecycle emissions tracking
– Circular economy strategies for white goods and industrial manufacturing
– AI-powered building renovation planning and digital twins
– Automated textile sorting systems using AI and RFID
– Digital Product Passports and data ecosystems for sustainable supply chains
They are actively seeking:
– UK researchers in sustainability, AI, manufacturing, and digital engineering
– Industrial collaborators and testbeds for technology pilots
– Spinout and scale-up businesses working in digital circular economy solutions
– Experts in legal frameworks, data standards, and interoperability
Who should attend?
To help you decide if your research and expertise is relevant, here’s a summary of the projects that the German delegation are interested in discussing:
| Project Name | Focus Area | Collaboration Sought |
| BeverGreen | Green digital twins for energy optimisation (in the brewing industry)
-Support for Green Digital Twin Implementation. -Development of Interoperable Solutions -Standardised digitalisation of beverage and brewing industry |
-Semantic tech, data integration.
-Partnerships with technology providers -Researchers and developers in graph databases, semantic technologies, and interoperability solutions -Sustainability experts |
| CliCE-DiPP | Digital carbon dioxide (CO₂) passports in manufacturing.
-Tools and methodologies for calculating and optimising the Product Carbon Footprint across supply chains -Prototypes for real-time Product Carbon Footprint calculation at both machine and process chain levels -Business model development combining ecological and economic interests |
-Sustainability, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Manufacturing Execution System (MES)/Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
-Industry partners interested in piloting and applying the digital CO₂ product passport -Researchers focused on sustainability, circular economy, and digital transformation in manufacturing |
| DiCES | Industrial circular economy for white goods
-Opportunity to be part of the discovery of new, innovative and sustainable solutions -Intense contact to research institutes and project-partners -Chance to exchange best-practices with producing companies and system providers |
-Hybrid production, Reuse, Remanufacturing, Recycling (general term for circular economy practices) (ReX), remanufacturing.
-Early adopters -Companies / people interested in the adaptation and development of a circular economy |
| NaiS | Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven digital twins for building renovation.
-A centralised digital platform NAIS for decision-making of sustainable modernisation measures -AI-driven digitisation of building floor plans to generate 3D-models for further analysis -Automated sustainability assessment of modernization measures -Open interfaces for integration with external databases and sustainability tools. |
-Building Information Modelling (BIM), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), digital construction.
-Early adopters -Researchers and developers in digitisation of existing building data or creating digital twins -ESG asset managers searching for innovative methods to develop sustainable modernization measures for existing buildings using life-cycle-analysis and AI |
| fashionsort.ai | Automated Artificial Intelligence (AI) textile sorting.
-Allocation of products to existing and new branches of the second-hand industry. -Supporting EU and global sustainability targets. |
Circular fashion, sorting tech.
-Second-hand retailers, repair services, re-commerce, upcycling and recycling companies. -Circular economy players in the textile sector. -Researchers and startups involved with automation in the textile industry and circular fashion business. |
| PASSAT | Data ecosystems for product passports
-Develop generic data service ecosystem concepts and components -Demonstrate implementation of DPPs in two specific product groups and a transferability use case, ski and sports equipment -Provide information, support and training for companies on implementing and utilising DPPs -Provide inputs for international and national guidelines, standards, and legislations |
-Digital twins, Service-oriented Architecture (SoA), regulations.
-Industry partners interested in piloting and applying the functional and non-functional requirements and regulations for implementing DPPs. -Researchers focused on Digital Product Passports, Requirement Engineering, Service-oriented architectures (SoA), Industrial Automation and Digital Twins. |
