Top Investments of the Year 2023 in Hessen

Indegene expanded its Europe presence with a center in Germany to help life sciences companies become future-ready

Indegene’s expansion to Frankfurt, one of Europe’s leading biotech locations, lets the company work with customers even more smoothly, and jointly develop digital innovations along the entire value chain even more quickly.

Indegene is a digital-first, life sciences commercialization company, with 20 of the world’s top 20 biopharma companies among its clientele. With over 7 operation hubs and 20 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia, the Indian-origin company helps biopharmaceutical, emerging biotech, and medical device companies develop products, get them to the market, and grow their impact through the life cycle in a more effective, efficient, and modern way. With annual revenues of over USD 300 million and a global workforce of 5000 plus people, Indegene brings together healthcare domain expertise, fit-for-purpose technology, and an agile operating model to provide a diverse range of solutions. 

UPS Healthcare opens its first German logistics hub in Hessen

UPS Healthcare is one of the world’s largest healthcare logistics providers, and Europe is one of the US company’s core markets. The reason? Some of the largest and most innovative companies in the pharmaceuticals, medtech, and biotech sectors are located here. And next-generation treatments, specialty pharmaceuticals, and personalized medicines require specialized, precise logistics. 

This is why UPS Healthcare opened its first German logistics facility for medical products in Giessen. The company offers inventory management, cold chain packaging and distribution, and storage and fulfillment services for laboratory medical products and clinical trial samples from this state-of-the-art location in mid-Hessen. 

The new, strategically located facility offers access to Europe’s rapidly growing healthcare markets and provides support for manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biologicals, whose products increasingly depend on time-critical, temperature-sensitive logistics. The 27,000 square meter facility can store goods in different temperature zones ranging from +25 to -20 degrees Celsius.

Westpac set up shop in Frankfurt

Westpac opened its first European branch in Frankfurt am Main in 2023. Westpac Europe GmbH’s decision to set up shop in Frankfurt makes it the latest Australian bank in the city on the Main. It is the ideal place to relocate the bank’s European headquarters to, in line with its EU growth plans.

Westpac is an Australian banking and financial services company, headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1981 before being renamed to Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982. It is Australia's first bank and oldest company, with almost 14 million customers worldwide, and provides a broad range of consumer, business and institutional banking and wealth management services through a portfolio of financial services brands and businesses.

Head-Up Display leader Envisics drives its European sales and service from Hessen

The leading British company for Augmented-Reality Head-Up Displays (AR-HUD) opened its European headquarters in Neu-Isenburg in Hessen last year. Commenting on the opening of the company’s second regional headquarters near Frankfurt, Envisics founder and CEO, Dr. Jamieson Christmas said: “Our new facility in Germany is another milestone in the growth of our company and enables us to better serve our current and future customers in mainland Europe. The Hessen region is ideally situated for a company such as Envisics, combining access to the talent and technology that will fuel our growth.”

Envisics’ decision to set up its European HQ in Hessen underscores the state’s strength as a leading location for international R&D companies in the automotive sector. Envisics’ office in Hessen was specifically selected for the ease of access to automakers and automotive suppliers across Continental Europe.

Dr. Rainer Waldschmidt, CEO of Hessen Trade & Invest (HTAI), stated: “Envisics´s decision to set up shop in Hessen highlights the attractiveness of our automotive ecosystem for international companies. Various OEM´s and suppliers are present with production, R&D and sales activities benefiting from dense industry and knowledge networks. Additionally, the complementary support of the network of Hessian Economic Development is a true locational advantage of our region that empowers companies to be successful on the long run. We are very much looking forward to accompanying Envisics on their further growth path!”

Envisics’ holographic technology enables market leading AR-HUDs, an advanced display technology that is fast becoming a must-have feature for auto makers and consumers alike. The AR-HUD market is set for rapid growth as more automakers look for new ways to relay timely and relevant information to drivers. Following a $100M Series C strategic funding round in 2023, the ownership structure of the company includes strategic investors Tarsadia Investments, GM Ventures, Hyundai Mobis, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, Stellantis Ventures, SAIC Motors, Van Tuyl Companies, and M&G Investments.

Hexagon Purus opens new factory for high-pressure hydrogen cylinders in Kassel

The Norwegian company Hexagon Purus is a leading global supplier of composite high-pressure cylinders and systems for storing and transporting compressed hydrogen. In addition to these products, it supplies battery systems and vehicle integration solutions for fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles. Hexagon Purus' products are used in a variety of applications including light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, refueling, maritime, rail and aerospace. 

Last year, Hexagon Purus has opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing hub for high-pressure hydrogen cylinders in Kassel. The site is to play a key role in the company’s strategy. The new facility will employ up to 300 skilled workers and can produce more than 40,000 Type 4 high-pressure hydrogen cylinders a year. This cylinder variant is constructed from low-weight composites, making it a suitable storage option for mobile applications such as in fuel cell-powered vehicles and infrastructure projects.

The company’s customers for hydrogen cylinders and systems include truck manufacturer Nikola, Toyota Motors North America and North American transit bus manufacturer New Flyer. 

ITM Power expands in Germany with offices and storage facility in Linden

ITM Power is a British company that is headquartered in Sheffield, in the centre of the UK.  ITM Power designs and manufactures electrolysers based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to produce green hydrogen, the only net zero energy gas, using renewable electricity and water.

The ITM Power Germany GmbH site which opened in Linden in 2023 provides office space for more than 50 people, a storage facility for spare parts for the in-field electrolyser systems and is the European base for aftermarket support.  Additionally, the location offers a training facility, as well as housing a number of business functions that will enable ITM´s accelerated growth, including Business Development, Engineering, Industrial Internet of Things, Procurement and Legal.

The location benefits from good international transportation links and is centrally located in mid-Hessen, allowing ITM to be close to customers in its core markets across Germany and the wider EU.