The 150-hectare business and industrial park LUNE DELTA is being developed in strict accordance with sustainability and environmental protection criteria. The aim is to create conditions that allow companies to operate at an internationally competitive level while at the same time minimising their environmental and social impact. The project is currently at the development planning stage.
Bremerhaven takes a fresh approach
In 2010, Bremerhaven increased its municipal area by almost a fifth through a transfer of land from Lower Saxony. The majority of this land was designated as an ecological compensation area for the construction of the CT4a container terminal, with a section earmarked for commercial use. Now, the BIS, Bremerhaven’s economic development agency, is presenting plans for the sustainable development and use of these 150 hectares in harmony with the adjacent nature conservation area. “The new LUNE DELTA business and industrial park is an excellent example of how we intend to combine commercial, environmental and social objectives. This is the only way in which we can master the challenges of climate change while further increasing our competitiveness,” explains Bremerhaven’s mayor, Melf Grantz. With the LUNE DELTA site, Bremerhaven aims to offer a suitable location for both new and established companies from a broad section of the green economy. Annette Schimmel, who coordinates the project at BIS, is keen to point out that mandatory sustainability criteria will apply at the site. The plan is to certify LUNE DELTA according to the standards of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The DGNB will award the project a preliminary certificate at the 2019 Expo Real property trade fair in Munich this autumn.
A great future for sustainable businesses
For around 20 years, Bremerhaven has been one of the pioneers in developing and building equipment for renewable energies. Leading research establishments, such as the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research and the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) are based here. A number of firms, from a mid-sized timber merchant and a four-star hotel to a major frozen food manufacturer, have recognised the economic and environmental significance of sustainability for themselves and have undergone or are initiating the necessary transition to a way of doing business that protects resources and combats climate change. “It makes sense to further encourage the green economy with a dedicated business park,” says Schimmel. After all, green technologies have huge potential. According to the Federal Environment Ministry’s estimates, German green tech companies will double their revenue from €344 billion in 2013 to €740 billion in 2025.
Good infrastructure creates a competitive edge
Among the special factors envisaged for the design of the planned business and industrial park is a utilities concept based on renewable energies that encourages pilot projects of relevance to the energy systems of the future. For example, there are plans to convert wind energy into green hydrogen nearby and for a test field where hydrogen is created through electrolysis – the first so far in Germany. A large green space at the heart of the site will be transformed into a park, where rainwater will be captured in ditches and ponds. The park will also feature a shared leisure and recreation area. In addition, a start-up centre focused on the green economy is intended to act as an incubator for new forms of shared and networked businesses. There will also be site management to control material flows to save resources and reduce costs.
