The structural change in the Rhenish mining area offers the region the opportunity to develop into a model region for sustainability and innovation in the future - this also includes the agricultural and food industry: the region has a traditionally strong processing industry for sugar beet, potatoes, vegetables and grain, among other things. A wide range of projects and initiatives are being sponsored to ensure that the Rhineland region remains an important location for the regional production of high-quality food in the future. These include the "Food Launch Center", which will research and test how local agricultural and food industry resources can be used even better to develop new food products. On January 20, 2025, NRW Minister of Agriculture Silke Gorißen presented the project partners Rhein-Kreis Neuss and The Hochschule Niederrhein with a total of 5.88 million euros in funding from the federal government for this project.
Minister Gorißen: "A strong Rhenish mining area of the future also includes a sustainable regional agriculture and food industry. The many businesses in the region, often family-run for generations, provide jobs and help to make the Rhenish mining district even more liveable. The new Launchcenter Lebensmittel will create a center that pools the strengths of the food industry and is intended to contribute to the development of new solutions to make regional food production even more competitive and sustainable."
Stephanie Bienefeld, Managing Director of the Launchcenter Lebensmittel: "As a transfer project, the Launchcenter for the food industry is intended to connect science with business and society and contribute to making knowledge and technologies from The Hochschule Niederrhein accessible and usable for companies in the food industry in the Rhine district of Neuss and the entire Rhineland region."
District Administrator Hans-Jürgen Petrauschke: "With its innovative strength, the Rhine district of Neuss stands for future-oriented shaping of structural change. The food industry is an important employer in the region and at the same time makes a significant contribution to the food supply far beyond. The launch center will serve as a central platform for the development and market launch of new products and technologies in the food industry. The objectives include the development of new or expanded value creation models as well as the preservation and creation of additional jobs and training places. People will benefit from this in the long term."
The handover of the funding decisions marks the start of the Launchcenter Lebensmittel project. Those responsible are optimistic about the coming years, in which the project will not only strengthen the regional food industry, but also set new standards for sustainability and innovation. The Launchcenter Lebensmittel will create a location in Neuss that is geared towards science and business, where research, development and continuing education go hand in hand. One possible example of a project at the Launchcenter could be the sustainable use of leftovers from food production as a breeding ground for the cultivation of mushrooms. As a place for networking, the Launchcenter brings together research facilities, established companies and start-ups, thereby promoting the process of developing and launching new products and technologies in the food industry.
At the handover ceremony at the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection in Düsseldorf, Minister Gorißen presented two funding decisions totaling around 5.9 million euros to the central partners of the project - of the total amount, around 2.18 million euros will go to the Rhine district of Neuss and around 3.7 million euros to The Hochschule Niederrhein. 90 percent of the funding comes from federal funds from the "Strengthening transformation dynamics and new beginnings in the coal mining areas and at coal-fired power plant sites" (STARK) funding program. The state is participating in the project funding and is covering 10% (EUR 411,242.41) of The Hochschule Niederrhein's own contribution and 2.5% (EUR 60,592.67) of the Rhein-Kreis Neuss's own contribution.
The "Launchcenter Lebensmittel" is a future-oriented project for structural change in the Rhenish mining area. The federal and state governments are supporting the sustainable transformation of the Rhenish mining area with up to 14.8 billion euros. To date, 226 projects with a funding volume of around 2.12 billion euros have been approved.
