Green technologies constitute a market that is growing globally. A wide variety of knowledge-based industries and services are setting standards to protect the environment. For this reason, Germany is presenting itself since May 2008 until October 2009 as a leading location for environmental technology within the context of the “German Initiative for Partnership in Green Technologies”. The aim is to increase co-operation between German and international research establishments and enterprises.

In its High-Tech Strategy, the government identified environmental technology as a sector in which Germany can make a major contribution to global technological innovation. The idea is to deepen cooperation between the private sector, universities and research institutes by creating a framework that supports such innovation.