HLUG

What HLUG does

Hessisches Landesamt für Naturschutz, Umwelt und Geologie (HLNUG), also referenced as HLUG, is a state government agency (Landesamt) of the German federal state of Hesse, headquartered at Rheingaustraße 186, 65203 Wiesbaden. Founded in 1974 and led by President Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmid, HLNUG operates under the Hessian Ministry for Agriculture and Environment (HMLU) as the statutory authority for nature conservation, environmental protection, and geology across the entire state. The agency's core mandate covers environmental monitoring across all media — air, water, soil, radiation protection, noise, and climate — as well as geological surveying, water resource management, soil protection, biodiversity conservation, and natural hazard preparedness (earthquakes, heavy rainfall, drought).

HLNUG's technological backbone is a WebGIS-based environmental monitoring platform comprising more than a dozen specialized public-facing applications, including the Messdatenportal (central measurement data portal), BodenViewer Hessen (soil data), Starkregenviewer (heavy rain hazard mapping), Hitzeviewer (heat stress from satellite data since 2000), Wasserviewer (surface/groundwater/drinking water), Geologie-Viewer (geological specialist data including 3D models and boreholes), and the Natureg-Viewer (nature conservation register). Mobile applications such as CO2-Diary, Meine Pegel, and Luftqualität extend the agency's reach to citizens. Underlying infrastructure is hosted by the Hessische Zentrale für Datenverarbeitung (HZD) and integrates with the Geoportal Hessen, ESA Copernicus Sentinel satellite data, Matomo analytics, and the Karte von Morgen platform. Machine learning is applied to satellite remote sensing for anomaly detection and process automation in environmental analysis.

The agency's business model is direct government funding: HLNUG is financed through the Hessian state budget and provides all services, publications, data, and tools free of charge as part of its public mandate. Its 'customers' — Hessian municipalities, state ministries, research institutions, and the general public of Hesse — consume services without commercial transaction. Go-to-market channels include the official website (hlnug.de), mobile apps, WebGIS viewers, the Naturschutzakademie Hessen (educational programs), and events such as the 2025 satellite remote sensing symposium co-hosted with LUBW Baden-Württemberg and EUMETSAT. The agency is non-commercial, has no subsidiaries or parent company in the corporate sense, and operates exclusively within the state of Hesse.

Name

HLUG

Legal name

Hessisches Landesamt für Naturschutz, Umwelt und Geologie

Website

https://hlug.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HLNUG (HLUG) is the Hessian state agency for nature conservation, environment, and geology, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Wiesbaden. It provides free environmental monitoring, geological surveying, and WebGIS-based data services to municipalities, state ministries, researchers, and citizens of Hesse, funded through the Hessian state budget.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Environmental Monitoring and Geological Surveying

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC)

Keywords

• Environmental monitoring services
• Geological surveying
• Nature conservation
• WebGIS applications
• Government environmental agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Wiesbaden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: HLUG is a state government agency funded through the Hessian state budget. All services, publications, and data are provided free of charge as part of the public mandate for environmental protection and nature conservation.

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HLNUG is a Hessian state government agency that delivers environmental monitoring, geological surveying, and nature conservation services for the state of Hesse, Germany. Its offerings include WebGIS-based viewer applications (BodenViewer, Starkregenviewer, Hitzeviewer, Wasserviewer, Natureg-Viewer, Geologie-Viewer), a centralized measurement data portal for air, water, radioactivity, earthquakes, and noise, mobile applications for citizens (CO2-Diary, Meine Pegel, Luftqualität), scientific publications and geological data products, and educational programs through the Naturschutzakademie Hessen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Naturschutzakademie Hessen: An educational platform within HLNUG offering events and programs in nature conservation, biodiversity (Hessische Biodiversitätsstrategie), and education for sustainable development.
• Hessen will's messen
• Fachinformationssystem Wasserviewer Hessen
• BodenViewer Hessen
• Starkregenviewer
• Hitzeviewer Hessen
• Natureg-Viewer

Products and services

• BodenViewer Hessen Interactive web mapping application providing diverse, scale-crossing data on soil properties and functions for Hesse, including point data from detailed soil surveys and area data representing various soil properties and functions across multiple scales. Used by municipalities, planners, and researchers for soil information.

Quantifiable outcome

• Comprehensive coverage of Hessen's environmental monitoring needs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (LUBW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2025Joint organization of the symposium 'Vom Orbit zur Entscheidung: Satellitenfernerkundung in der Landesumweltverwaltung 2025' held on October 2, 2025 in Darmstadt, focusing on satellite remote sensing applications in state environmental administration.
• EUMETSATcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2025Supported the October 2025 symposium on satellite remote sensing in Darmstadt, providing expertise and collaboration for environmental monitoring using satellite data in state administration.
• Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald (UNESCO Global Geopark)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on educational outreach and awareness about soil conservation, with the park reporting on new soil steles and educational programs to strengthen soil awareness in society.
• Karte von MorgencoreTechnology or IntegrationThe 'Hessen will's messen' project uses the Karte von Morgen (Map of Tomorrow) platform as its underlying mapping system for the interactive resource conservation map, administered by HLNUG with entries tagged #hessenwillsmessen.
• Reuse Netzwerk HessencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with the Reuse Network Hessen for conducting surveys in autumn 2024 and May 2025 among (predominantly charitable) second-hand goods businesses in Hessen to create transparency about recorded and reused quantities of used goods.
• Hessische Zentrale für Datenverarbeitung (HZD)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical service provider hosting the internet offering according to HLNUG specifications, providing the IT infrastructure for the agency's digital services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Umweltbundesamt (UBA): Germany's federal environment agency — provides the overarching regulatory framework and national data infrastructure that HLNUG implements at the state level, making UBA the natural upstream policy counterpart.
• Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN): Germany's federal nature conservation agency — comparable to HLNUG's Naturschutz division (NATUREG register, biodiversity strategy) but with federal scope and policy-setting authority rather than state-level implementation.
• European Environment Agency (EEA): EU-level agency providing pan-European environmental data and indicators — directly comparable in monitoring function and data-publication model to HLNUG, but operating across all 27 member states rather than a single region.

Regional players

• Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt (LfU Bayern): Bavaria's central state agency for environmental protection, geology, and water management — the largest German state-level agency with the same environmental monitoring, geological surveying, and WebGIS publication model as HLNUG.
• Landesamt für Umweltschutz Sachsen-Anhalt (LAU): Saxony-Anhalt's state environmental protection agency — provides monitoring, GIS publication, and regulatory support comparable to HLNUG's mandate across air, water, soil, and nature conservation.
• Niedersächsischer Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz (NLWKN): Lower Saxony's state operator for water management, coastal protection, and nature conservation — comparable statutory mandate, GIS-based data publication, and inter-municipal environmental services similar to HLNUG's offerings.
• LUBW Baden-Württemberg (Landesanstalt für Umwelt Baden-Württemberg): Sister state environmental agency of Baden-Württemberg with an identical functional mandate (Umwelt/Geologie/Naturschutz) and co-host of the October 2025 satellite remote sensing symposium with HLNUG. Same structure, same outputs, different German state.
• Landesamt für Umwelt Brandenburg (LfU Brandenburg): Brandenburg's state environmental agency covering water, soil, air, and nature conservation — operates similar WebGIS data portals and serves as the in-state peer for environmental monitoring and geological data.
• Thüringer Landesanstalt für Umwelt und Geologie (TLUG): Thuringia's combined environmental and geological state agency — virtually identical name, scope, and structure to HLNUG, making it one of the closest institutional analogs across German Bundesländer.
• LUNG Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Landesamt für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Geologie): Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's state agency for environment, nature conservation and geology — name and scope are nearly identical to HLNUG, indicating the standardized federal-state model for this category of agency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hlnug
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HLNUG_Hessen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hlug
• Instagraminstagram.com/hlnug_hessen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about HLUG