A strong region

BASF is committed in a variety of ways to the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. As home to a large number of global players and successful medium-sized enterprises and innovative start-ups, it is one of Germany’s driving economic forces.

More than half of the goods produced here are exported. The primary sectors are automotive, machinery and plant engineering, chemicals, information technology, biotechnology and life sciences, energy and the environment as well as the cultural and creative industries. In many of these sectors, the region leads the way both nationally and internationally.

Close links between industry and science.

One hallmark is the close links between industry and science. Together with a large number of renowned research facilities such as the European Molecular Biology Laboratory or the German Cancer Research Center, the 22 universities in the Rhine-Neckar region provide the creative environment for innovative technologies. More than twice as many skilled workers are employed in research in the greater area of Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen compared to the national average. Both universities and non-university scientific institutions also maintain active links with industry and thus ensure a fruitful transfer of knowledge from theory to practice.

Almost no other region has such a long tradition of striving for scientific knowledge. Germany's first university was founded in Heidelberg in 1386. Today more than 85,000 students are enrolled at the universities in the region.