Review 2025 – NRW Nano Conference

Keynotes of the 11^th NRW Nano Conference

Prof. Dr. P. Haring Bolívar

Universität Siegen, Inst. Für Höchstfrequenztechnik und Quantenelektronik

Prof. Pierre Kennepohl

University of Calgary, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry

Dr. Frédérick Bordry

Gauss Fusion GmbH

Dr. Felix J. Grawert

AIXTRON SE

Dr.-Ing. Daniel Schall

Black Semiconductor GmbH

Impulses for Business, Science and Society in Challenging Times

High-tech innovations and international partnerships: The 11^th NRW Nano Conference in Dortmund was a resounding success!

On 30 September and 1 October 2025, the 11^th NRW Nano Conference took place at the Congress Centre Dortmund. Over the course of two days, more than 300 experts from science, industry and politics came together to discuss the latest developments in nanotechnology and innovative materials. The programme featured five keynotes, more than 50 specialist presentations in seven sessions, a major poster exhibition with 100 contributions from young researchers, 30 exhibitors, and a vibrant networking event.

The conference demonstrated that high technology remains a vital driver of innovation, even in economically challenging times and against the backdrop of global tensions. With the new session “High-tech for the security and defence industry”, a field of application was placed in the spotlight for the first time, underlining the contribution of key technologies to Europe’s resilience.

International participation was particularly strong: a delegation from Canada, led by Deep Tech Canada, used the conference to strengthen cooperation with North Rhine-Westphalia. A further highlight was the participation of Evelyne Coulombe (Chargée d’Affaires of the Embassy of Canada) and Ladan Amirazizi (Consul of Canada).

On the first day, Anna Haas, Head of the “Europe and External Economic Affairs” unit at the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs, opened the event. She emphasised the international outlook and the close partnership between North Rhine-Westphalia and Canada.

On the second day, NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur, together with Heike Marzen (Managing Director of Dortmund Economic Development Agency) and Evelyne Coulombe, visited the exhibition. In her subsequent closing words, she underlined the crucial role of high-tech innovations in the transformation of business and society: “The 11^th NRW Nano Conference has impressively shown that high-tech knows no boundaries. From sustainable materials and quantum technologies to security-related applications – the developments presented here make important contributions to innovation, competitiveness and resilience. North Rhine-Westphalia is proud to pursue this path together with strong partners such as Canada,” said Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The co-organisers also drew a highly positive conclusion: “Dortmund is a dynamic hub for high-tech innovations. The 11^th NRW Nano Conference has vividly demonstrated how fruitful the exchange between start-ups, established companies and international delegations can be,” said Heike Marzen, Managing Director of Dortmund Economic Development Agency.

“The response from the community was extremely positive. Particularly gratifying was the diversity of topics and the strong involvement of young researchers. This confirms the conference’s ambition to build a bridge between excellent research and practical applications,” added Dr.-Ing. Harald Cremer, Cluster Manager of NMWP.NRW.

One of the key aims of the conference was to give young researchers a stage on which to present their outstanding work. From around 100 submitted posters, the three most impressive contributions were celebrated on the second day of the event. First place went to Andreas Prokscha from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of Digital Signal Processing, with his poster entitled ‘Perspectives on Terahertz Honey Bee Sensing’. Second place went to Alan Abdi, TU Dortmund University, Chair for Communication Technology, with the poster ‘Optical Absorption in SiGeSn Multi-Quantum Well Structures’. Third place went to Nico Rademacher, AMO GmbH Nanostructuring, ‘Transfer of large area 2D materials using only deionised water’.

The quality of the conference was further enhanced through the support of its partners: