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Baden-Württemberg is one of the most innovative regions in Europe. A remarkable 5.6 percent of the gross domestic product are invested in research and development (2017). The Corona crisis in particular proves the location's innovative strength. The following two examples illustrate the state's high innovation potential.

Bosch Healthcare Solutions GmbH based in Waiblingen, in the German Southwest, has developed a new, fully automated COVID-19 rapid test that can help medical facilities such as doctors' offices, hospitals, laboratories, and health centres to make fast diagnoses.

The European Commission is funding four research projects on artificial intelligence with a total of 50 million euros, including the ELISE research project of the "European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems" (ELLIS).

Researchers around the world are working feverishly to develop vaccines and therapies against the novel coronavirus. Top-level research from Baden-Württemberg is providing promising approaches.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and IBM have announced the installation of IBM's currently commercially most powerful quantum computer in the region of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The state government is therefore providing 40 million euros in funding for the establishment of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's "Competence Center Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg".

With a total of 15,230 patent applications in 2019, Baden-Württemberg is ranking first among all German states. This shows that companies from the German Southwest are well positioned for the future, said Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing.

According to the State Statistical Office, exports from rose by 1.1 percent. For the first time since 2015, the growth in exports in the country is again stronger than nationwide.

According to the Smart-City-Index by statista and Handelsblatt, which measures the degree of digitalization in major German cities, three cities from Baden-Württemberg are among the top ten: Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Heidelberg.

According to a report by FAZ.NET, Varta and Teamviewer, two companies from Baden-Württemberg in the German Southwest, are promoted to the M-Dax. The two companies each made a relatively rapid climb in the stock market.

After 2017, Baden-Württemberg once again took a leading position in the field of renewable energies in a comparison of federal states. According to a study, the state stands out in particular due to its strong energy policy programmes.