Karlsruhe/Istanbul (labnews.ai) – A new white paper paves the way for Turkish industrial companies to enter into a deepened research and development partnership with Fraunhofer IOSB and other partners. The focus is on practical approaches for standardized data exchange, interoperable data spaces, and innovation clusters, which are intended to quickly transfer research into scalable industrial solutions. The document “Turkish German Digital Technology Exchange: R&D Cooperation in Manufacturing Engineering and Manufacturing Related Information & Communication Technology” was published on March 11, 2026.
The initiative is a joint project of Fraunhofer IOSB, IIB e.V., the Turkish automation association ENOSAD, and MEDIPOL University in Istanbul and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation IPA. It aims at joint projects in the fields of Industry 4.0, AI, Machine Learning, and digital infrastructures.
An IIB e.V. innovation center will be opened in Istanbul on March 24, 2026. It will serve as a platform for pilot projects, joint developments, and industrial validation – especially for companies looking to increase productivity and resilience, reduce import dependencies, and prepare for EU requirements such as digital product passports and sustainability standards.
The white paper recommends a bilateral R&D program in a 2+2 model, standardized cross-border data exchange, regional transfer centers, and the targeted development of competencies in SMEs. It emphasizes the mutual benefit: Germany gains access to strong industrial partners in the nearshoring context and stabilizes global value chains; Turkey accelerates its technological modernization and positions itself as a resilient regional hub.
The cooperation is now set to start concretely. Interested Turkish companies can get in touch via the partner IIB: Recep Tanrikulu (+49 1523 6640883) or Karlheinz Schmidt (ks@iib-enterprises.eu). The white paper is available as a PDF at https://doi.org/10.24406/publica-7337.
(labnews.ai)
