The aim of the funding announcement is to provide the relevant players affected by the structural change in the automotive and supplier industry in the regions along the entire value chain of the automotive industry with rapid and sustainable support in the necessary transformation in terms of content and topic, particularly through knowledge transfer. Relevant players (target group) include companies, universities and research institutions.

To this end, thematically oriented transformation hubs are to be designed, set up and operated along relevant value chains in the automotive and supplier industries. Based on their respective knowledge of the main topic(s), they are to identify, bundle and prepare current economic and technological trends, R&D results and state-of-the-art digitalization technologies and applications for their main topics for transfer in the regions.

The knowledge and technology transfer then takes place in particular in cooperation with the relevant actors who, in their multiplier function, transfer the generated knowledge into broad application - this also includes the regional transformation networks currently being set up.

The supported transformation hubs should make a clearly identifiable contribution to the following funding policy objectives of this funding announcement:

• Knowledge transfer on transformation-relevant topics including relevant research and development for the relevant actors affected by the structural change in the automotive and supplier industry in the regions along the entire value chain of the automotive industry
• Knowledge transfer on resource and energy efficiency including relevant research and development for ecologically sustainable production in the value chains (including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
  emissions and sustainable use of raw materials/recyclable materials)
• Scaling of R&D solutions across existing structures along the value chains as a contribution to transformation
• Networking of relevant actors, also via the transformation networks, and initiating implementation steps, e.g. through transformation projects

The thematically oriented transformation hubs are intended to act as a hub between findings from research and development and the transformation potential of the target group.

The objectives are to be achieved by the transformation hubs carrying out the following transfer and transformation tasks, among others, through funding.

• Prepare, bundle and disseminate current technological and economic trends as well as results and solutions from R&D with high relevance for the value chain to the rest of the value chain (broad transfer) through a set of interlocking target group-specific transfer instruments (provision of expertise, contact points, demonstrators, network partners, event formats, publications, etc.)
• Matching the potentials and needs of the key topics and value chains with the results and solutions from R&D, as well as translating and contextualizing solutions for the value chain (assignment to needs)
• Establishment and maintenance of user and application communities to disseminate the results and solutions from R&D projects in the context of the value chain