Leipzig’s trade and cluster management association “Netzwerk Energie & Umwelt e.V. (NEU e.V.)” (Network for Energy & Environmental Technology) was formally founded in 2011. After successful years under the umbrella and management of the City of Leipzig, its members outsourced the cluster’s management function into an own association: NEU e.V. was born.

With a dedicated management team, NEU e.V. now offers even higher value, service and competitive advantage to its associates, while staying in close cooperation with the City’s Economic Development Office.

NEU e.V.’s somewhat 70 members consist of large corporations, SMEs, research and educational institutions, public administration, unions and dedicated individuals. The association’s members are elastically organized in eight cluster teams, each with a different area of interest. These teams are: bioenergy, electromobility, energy efficiency, water/wastewater, solar, trading, environment and education.

By providing a common platform to Greater Leipzig’s diverse entrepreneurial landscape, NEU e.V. connects individual competencies with financial resources and innovative ideas – all with one common goal: Creating lasting partnerships that work towards an environmentally sustainable and prosperous Leipzig and its greater region.

Cluster management association NEU e.V. enables its members to cooperatively develop ideas, realize projects and improve existing business models. NEU e.V.’s specific goals are to encourage the dialogue between potential partners, to market the Greater Leipzig region and business sector, to coordinate technology and knowledge transfer, to foster advanced training and educational opportunities in the field, to improve the sector’s general business and political framework, and to promote national and international cooperation.

NEU e.V. has been awarded with the Bronze Label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI). Cluster management organizations that are benchmarked after the ECEI system have to meet strict criteria and demonstrate their continuous commitment to excellence.

The European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis, responsible for awarding the ECEI labels, analyzes 36 indicators with each applicant. Among these are “the structure of the cluster, the cluster management and the governance of the cluster, financing of the cluster management, services provided by the cluster management, contacts and interaction within the cluster and achievements and recognition of the cluster.”(cluster-analysis.org/benchmarked-clusters, Accessed February 20, 2016)