by Philipp Herrmann, Managing Director of BRYCK Startup Alliance
While many of Europe’s startup ecosystems orbit around capital cities and elite universities, something fundamentally different is taking shape in the heart of Germany. Quietly but with growing intensity, the Ruhr region, once synonymous with coal, steel and heavy industry is turning into a proving ground for a new kind of innovation economy: one that’s performance-driven, industry-rooted and built for deep tech scale.
At the centre of this movement is BRYCK , a privately backed startup & innovation hub based in Essen. Together with RAG-Stiftung, one of Germany’s largest foundations, the three major universities of the region (Duisburg-Essen, Dortmund and Bochum) and Initiativkreis Ruhr, the region’s strongest business alliance with over 70 leading companies, BRYCK has launched the BRYCK Startup Alliance, a new joint venture aiming to become one of Germany’s Startup Factories as part of a programme initiated by the federal government: This initiative aims to drastically increase the number and quality of knowledge-based spin-offs in the Ruhr area – a region with enormous potential that is just waiting to be exploited! .
From Decline to Deep Tech: A Region Reinvents Itself
Over the past 30 years, the Ruhr area has experienced one of the most dramatic economic shifts in Europe. What used to be a region of mines and blast furnaces is now home to over 240,000 students, a dense network of research institutions, and global corporates in energy, logistics, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
The pivot: focusing not on digital convenience apps, but on startups that solve hard problems: decarbonisation, hydrogen infrastructure, health system resilience, energy transformation. These are not quick wins. They take time, collaboration and capital. But they’re exactly the kind of ventures that Europe needs right now.
The Startup Factories Programme: A National Bet on Regional Power
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action launched the Startup Factories initiative to build exactly that: durable, regionally anchored platforms with the goal of cultivating science-based startups that can scale to global relevance. This boost for the startup nation Germany lays the foundation for it to become Europe’s deep tech powerhouse. For Europe to lead in deep tech, support must reach places where talent and infrastructure already exist like the Ruhr area.”
BRYCK Startup Alliance is one of 15 selected initiatives in the competition phase. What sets the Ruhr model apart is the density of collaboration: between universities, industry leaders and public institutions. The focus is on system-building at its core. With deep tech startups at the centre, the goal is not just to support founders, but to integrate them into the industrial value chain from day one.
Unlike startup scenes in Berlin or London, that cluster innovation in one urban core, the Ruhr approach doesn’t mimic these formulas. Instead, it crafts its own; grounded in complexity, focused on industrial impact, and designed for Europe’s long game.
With the BRYCK Startup Alliance, startups don’t just get mentorship and structured access to 10bn Euro in venture capital through its global investor network. They’re plugged into pilot partnerships, with companies already transforming their core business.
That’s where the magic happens: when startups validate their tech in real-world environments early on, with customers who matter. At BRYCK Startup Alliance, we will focus on three strategic sectors: Future Industry, Future Life Science and Future Cities. These aren’t hype markets. They’re high-stakes arenas where Europe’s future is being decided. And they’re embedded in the Ruhr’s DNA.
The Real Ask: A Unicorn With Purpose
Let’s be honest: tech transfer needs to improve. Capital needs to scale. Bureaucracy needs to shrink. But what Europe really needs is a big win. We need that one startup that shifts global perception. The one that shows we can not only build world-class technology, but scale it with intention.
Because just like in sports, people don’t push their limits for third place in the local league. Talent, capital, ambition, they follow momentum. And right now, we’re missing that gravitational pull. What we need is a unicorn with purpose.
A company that leverages Europe’s industrial depth, engineering talent and scientific excellence and turns it into global relevance. A champion not of hype, but of substance. That’s the spirit in which the Ruhr region is emerging. Not as a copy of the Valley but as a European original.
Why The UK Should Be Watching
Across the Channel, the UK is trying to unlock regional innovation through programmes like the Innovation Accelerators in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. It’s a good direction, but the Ruhr story adds a powerful lens. Because here’s the truth: you don’t have to start from zero.
You can start from legacy if you know how to use it. That’s the Ruhr playbook. It’s not about building a scene. It’s about building an engine. One that runs on industrial expertise, political commitment, and entrepreneurial drive.
The Ruhr model isn’t done. It’s still evolving. But the early signals are strong: an ecosystem aligned across startups, universities, corporates, and capital — with real pilot traction and global ambition. And maybe, just maybe, the next defining European startup won’t be built in a capital city
It’ll come from a place that once powered Europe’s economy and is now powering its next chapter.
About The Author
Philipp Herrmann is an experienced serial entrepreneur and currently Managing Director of the BRYCK Startup Alliance and Admissions Interviewer at the renowned Stanford University. He combines a human-centred and high-performance way of working with empathic leadership. Previously, he co-founded etventure, a leading digital consultancy in Germany, together with Christian Lüdtke, worked at Bertelsmann and gained valuable experience in Silicon Valley as an MBA graduate from Stanford. Philipp is an active mentor and consultant for several start-up entrepreneurs as well as for CEOs of industrial companies facing the challenges of digital transformation.