Maritime Cluster – MCN
A unique cluster
For more than 15 years now, the Schleswig-Holstein Head Office of the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany (MCN) has been promoting cooperation within the maritime industry and working in areas such as shipbuilding, marine equipment supply, marine technology and offshore wind technology. MCN has 350 members from the fields of industry, research and politics in several northern German states. The network involves a mixture of maritime sectors, offers companies strong support and organises expert groups devoted to specific themes. All of this stimulates dialogue and encourages joint projects and innovation.
A network for several states
MCN is unique in that it incorporates five states. What started out in 2006 as the “Maritime Cluster Schleswig- Holstein” became a three-state initiative in 2011, when Hamburg and Lower Saxony joined. Three years later, the cluster welcomed two more partners, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bremen. From 2017 onwards, MCN e. V. will offer companies and research institutions in all five states opportunities to intensify their collaboration, particularly with regard to exploring interfaces with other industries.
Working together for innovation
MCN supports established events such as the Kiel Marketplace. In addition, it works with GEOMAR, the “Future Ocean Excellence Cluster”, the Kiel Business Development Agency and state universities to develop project ideas and start implementing them.
MCN.SH Strategy 2022
Based on the MCN Strategy 2020 the MCN.Schleswig-Holstein in collaboration with cluster participants in Schleswig-Holstein set up a regional version of the strategy und action plan. The MCN.SH Strategy encompasses the specific competences and needs of the regional maritime economy. A version of the "MCN.SH Strategy 2022" (in German language only) can be found here.
“MCN promotes the transfer of digital simulation and planning technology to maintain high quality standards in Schleswig-Holstein’s shipbuilding industry.”
Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland
Regionale Geschäftsstelle Schleswig-Holstein
c/o WTSH GmbH
Lorentzendamm 24
24103 Kiel
Phone 0431 66 66 6-865
Fax 0431 66 66 6-793
Cluster in Action: MCN
Project Munitect
The development of cost-effective technology for the detection, qualification and clearance of ammunition in the sea is the central idea of the project Munitect. This unique project was created by the collaboration of the MCN Business Unit Schleswig-Holstein with the State Ministries as well as the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel. It was developed within the scope of "Kieler Marktplatz" as well as the event "Ammunition – Burdens of the Past at Sea", which was part of the trade fair WindEnergy Hamburg. An important role has also been played by the continuous support of the MCN group "Maritime Economy Offshore Wind".
For more safety
Ammunitions are burdens of the past and represent a risk for the economic use of our seas which is hard to assess even decades after the end of the war. To date it is difficult and cost-intensive to detect, salvage, and defuse such ammunitions. The Munitect network wants to provide ammunition detection through the development and marketing of cost-effective sensor systems.
From plan to act
In 2015, the consortium was set up under the leadership of the MCN Business Unit Schleswig-Holstein which involves companies, universities and government agencies. In February 2016, the project, sponsored by the BMWi, jumped out of the starting blocks under the direction of Fraunhofer IGD Rostock.