You can find our summary of the overall strategy here!
Great success for the MCube future cluster
The Munich Cluster for the Future of Mobility in Metropolitan Regions (MCube) can continue its innovative research work for at least another three years. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has deemed the first phase of the cluster led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) a success and will fund a second funding period with around 15 million euros. This was announced by the BMBF on the basis of the recommendation of a high-ranking scientific jury.
MCube brings together key players from science, business and society to realize sustainable and transformative mobility innovations with high solution potential for global challenges based on the example of Munich. MCube's mission statement is: "Making innovations for the mobility transition - together - possible".
Broad partner network in the MCube
In addition to TUM, the City of Munich, UnternehmerTUM, Stadtwerke, BMW, SAP, Airbus and Green City are the main partners in the second funding phase of MCube. In total, over 80 partners are involved in the projects. The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts is also generously supporting MCube financially.
TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann said: "This funding decision by the federal government is a particularly strong signal in view of the difficult budgetary times. The future of society and the environment depends on us rethinking mobility and focusing on sustainable innovations."
Georg Dunkel, Head of Mobility at the City of Munich: "I am delighted that the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the second phase of the MCube future cluster. Following the successful first phase, we will be able to develop further innovative solutions for the mobility transition in Munich together with partners from administration, business, science and civil society in the coming years and test them in practice."
The spokesperson for the MCube Board of Directors, Prof. Sebastian Pfotenhauer, said: "The special feature of MCube lies in the direct involvement of the population in particular. Our unique approach is to search for innovative mobility solutions together with society and not to focus on polarization or a specific technology, but on joint experiments for a sustainable and socially just mobility future - innovation with a broad perspective."
MCube Managing Director Oliver May-Beckmann said: "Our approach is radical: we always think innovation from the people and not from the technology. This sets MCube apart from other mobility projects. We work closely with civil society, involve them in MCube's strategic decisions, include small and medium-sized enterprises and communicate our solutions to municipalities and regions throughout Germany."
The future projects of MCube
In the first funding phase, 14 projects and a large number of accompanying activities were launched. These included, for example, autonomous driving, rethinking car sharing and charging infrastructure as well as changing urban living spaces in temporary real-world laboratories.
The following nine specific projects are to be implemented by MCube in the second funding phase:
TUM and MCube
In total, around a dozen TUM chairs from various schools are involved in MCube. In addition to Sebastian Pfotenhauer, who is Carl von Linde Professor for Innovation Research, the board of directors includes Prof. Markus Lienkamp, Chair of Automotive Engineering and Sector Leader Mobility at the Munich Institute for Robotics and Machine Intelligence, Prof. Gebhard Wulfhorst, Chair of Urban Structure and Transport Planning, and Prof. Jeanne Rubner, TUM Vice President for Global Communications and Public Engagement.
With over 130 new employees, Germany's future cluster MCube at Munich Urban Colab entered the next project phase on April 9, 2025 - and at full speed.
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