New Production Institute

What New Production Institute does

The New Production Institute (NPI) is a publicly funded interdisciplinary research institute based in Hamburg, Germany, institutionally embedded within Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg (HSU/UniBw H). Formally established in 2022 from the predecessor Value Creation Systematics research group at HSU's Laboratory for Production Engineering, NPI employs 30+ researchers across mechanical engineering, manufacturing technology, design, social economics, law, and natural sciences to study the transformation of value creation systems in the context of digitalization, circular economy, and commons-based peer production.

NPI's core technology revolves around open-source hardware for distributed urban production. Its flagship product is the OpenLab Starter Kit (OLSK), a modular set of eight open-source digital manufacturing machines (3D printers, CNC mills, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, 3D scanners) co-developed with InMachines Ingrassia GmbH and documented on GitHub. The institute operates a network of 8+ thematic OpenLabs across the Hamburg metropolitan region, including specialized labs such as OpenLab MedTech, OpenLab Microfactory, and the mobile OpenLab Mobile. AI capabilities are integrated into specific products, including the OLSK Large Laser v3's generative design features (powered by the in-house OLOS operating system) and the Value Creation Radar's horizon scanning text analytics.

NPI's business model is non-commercial. The institute is funded through public research grants from dtec.bw (Bundeswehr Digitalization and Technology Research Center), BMBF, EU/EFRE, and GIZ, with no commercial product sales or paid service offerings. Its customers are essentially public-sector stakeholders: HSU as institutional host, the City of Hamburg as Fab City partner, and 40+ research and civic collaborators. Go-to-market occurs through academic publications, conferences, community workshops, open-source repositories, and the Fab City global network rather than commercial sales channels.

Name

New Production Institute

Legal name

New Production Institute

Website

https://newproductioninstitute.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The New Production Institute is a publicly funded interdisciplinary research institute at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg that develops open-source hardware and OpenLabs for distributed urban production, circular economy research, and AI-enabled digital manufacturing, serving academic, civic, and policy stakeholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332), Machinery Manufacturing (333), Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (33324)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559), Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555)

akta.pro primary industry

Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consulting, Advisory & Technology Transfer (AM Adoption) (IMAAAJAK), Professional Training & Workforce Upskilling (AM) (IMAAAJAC), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Research institute
• Open source hardware
• Digital manufacturing
• Circular economy research
• Distributed production

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: The institute operates as a research organization at Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, funded through public research grants and institutional funding. Key funding sources include dtec.bw (Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr), BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research), EU/EFRE funds, and GIZ (German development cooperation). The institute does not generate commercial revenue from product sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The New Production Institute is an interdisciplinary academic research organization at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg that investigates the transformation of industrial value creation systems in the context of digital transformation. It conducts transdisciplinary research and develops open-source hardware systems, AI-supported analysis tools (such as the Value Creation Radar), and physical OpenLab fabrication workshops (3D printers, CNC mills, laser cutters). Its work spans open source hardware, circular economy, commons-based peer production, and AI in digital manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OpenLab Starter Kit (OLSK): A modular set of open digital manufacturing machines (3D printers, CNC milling machines, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, 3D scanners) for use in Fab Labs and OpenLabs, developed in cooperation with InMachines Ingrassia GmbH.
• OpenLab Microfactory
• OpenLab
• OpenLab Mobile
• Fab City Hamburg

Products and services

• OpenLab Starter Kit (OLSK) A modular, open-source set of eight digital manufacturing machines (3D printers, CNC milling machines, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, 3D scanners) for Fab Labs, OpenLabs, or mobile makerspaces. All designs, construction plans, and assembly instructions are openly accessible worldwide. Targeted at organizations building or expanding open fabrication infrastructure.
• OLSK Large Laser v3 with AI Function A modular, open-source-based laser cutter that integrates AI-powered design and work file creation via the in-house OLOS operating system, enabling users to automatically generate designs from images or text prompts and optimize cutting and engraving paths. Targeted at Fab Labs, makerspaces, and digital fabrication users.
• Value Creation Radar (Wertschöpfungsradar) AI-supported text analysis system using horizon scanning to identify weak signals of structural change in value creation systems, enabling early detection of changes in value creation patterns. Targeted at researchers, policy makers, and organizations studying industrial transformation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fab City Hamburg established as Germany's first Fab City, with 8+ OpenLabs across the metropolitan region
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (HSU/UniBw H)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe institute is institutionally embedded within HSU's Laboratory for Production Engineering (LaFT) in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. NPI emerged from the research group Value Creation Systematics at LaFT. The university provides academic infrastructure, staffing, and institutional framework for NPI's research activities.
• InMachines Ingrassia GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for the OpenLab Starter Kit (OLSK) project. InMachines develops and manufactures open-source digital manufacturing machines in cooperation with NPI. The OLSK Large Laser v3 integrates InMachines' OLOS operating system with AI capabilities.
• Fab City Hamburg e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPI is a founding member and active contributor to Fab City Hamburg association, which unites open labs, makerspaces, workshops, innovative startups, and research institutions in Hamburg. The association drives Hamburg's Fab City transformation toward a data-based circular economy.
• TU Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in collaborative research on value creation, digital manufacturing, and sustainable production. TUHH contributes engineering and technical expertise to joint projects.
• GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in international transfer projects including Digital4Jobs which establishes OpenLabs with open-source hardware machines in international contexts, with focus on training and local adaptation.
• Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partner in the OpenLab MedTech project, collaborating on the development of an open-source low-field MRI scanner at the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Hamburg.
• Bundeswehrkrankenhaus HamburgmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of Germany's first OpenLab MedTech, where NPI developed a mobile open-source low-field MRI scanner in collaboration with PTB and hospital staff.
• MIT Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partner connected through the global Fab City initiative. MIT CBA founded the Fab Lab movement and coined the Fab Lab concept, providing foundational research and network connections for NPI's OpenLab activities.
• HAW Hamburg (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing to research on sustainable manufacturing, digital production, and interdisciplinary innovation projects within the Hamburg metropolitan region.
• Verbund Offener Werkstätten e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPI is connected to the German network of open workshops (Verbund Offener Werkstätten), which gathers many Fab Labs in Germany, facilitating knowledge exchange and collaborative initiatives.
• at-stakeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization contributing to research and network activities related to open innovation and sustainable value creation.
• DigitalHub HamburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHamburg's digital innovation hub, connecting NPI with the startup ecosystem and digital transformation community in the Hamburg metropolitan region.
• Leuphana University LüneburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing to sustainability and innovation research within the NPI network.
• Kluge CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization within the NPI network contributing to knowledge exchange and collaborative research.
• AGYA (Arab-German Young Academy)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic network partner facilitating Arab-German research collaboration, particularly relevant for NPI's projects in North African contexts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bauhaus University Weimar — Digital Fabrication Lab: German university with a strong digital fabrication research group focused on computational design, robotic fabrication, and open-source building production. Direct peer in the academic open-fabrication space, sharing NPI's emphasis on publicly accessible manufacturing technologies and transdisciplinary design research.
• InMachines Ingrassia GmbH: German SME co-developing the OpenLab Starter Kit (OLSK) and OLOS operating system with NPI. Direct peer and co-development partner that manufactures the open-source digital fabrication machines NPI designs, sharing the same open-hardware philosophy and customer base (Fab Labs, OpenLabs, mobile makerspaces).
• Fab Foundation: Global non-profit that originated and stewards the Fab Lab movement. Direct peer because NPI's OpenLab network, Fab City Hamburg affiliation, and OLSK hardware kit are all built on Fab Lab methodology, share the same audience (makers, researchers, cities), and operate in the same digital-fabrication commons-based peer production paradigm.
• Waag Futurelab: Amsterdam-based research institute operating open maker/lab facilities (Fab Lab Amsterdam, TextielLab, Open Wetlab) at the intersection of technology, design, and society. Direct peer because both organizations run publicly accessible digital fabrication labs, conduct transdisciplinary research, and are leading European voices in open-source hardware and circular production.
• MIT Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA): Academic research group that invented the Fab Lab concept and co-founded the global Fab City initiative. Direct peer because NPI is explicitly connected to CBA through the Fab City network and relies on CBA's foundational research and tools to design its OpenLab infrastructure.
• Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) / Fab Lab Barcelona: Barcelona-based research and educational institution operating one of Europe's flagship Fab Labs. Direct peer because IAAC pursues the same blend of open digital fabrication, citizen participation, urban production, and AI-enhanced design that NPI pursues, and is a peer node in the global Fab City network.

Others

• Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA): U.S.-based non-profit that maintains the open-source hardware definition, certification, and community. Adjacent/ecosystem peer because OSHWA sets the licensing and certification standards NPI's OLSK hardware relies on; NPI's open-source publishing strategy directly depends on OSHWA's frameworks.

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM): Large German applied-research institute covering additive manufacturing, production technology, and circular economy. Broad incumbent peer because it overlaps with NPI's additive manufacturing and circular-production agenda but operates at significantly greater scale with deep industry funding and a much broader technology portfolio.
• Flanders Make: Belgian strategic research center for the manufacturing industry, running multiple open-innovation labs across mechatronics, AI, and production technologies. Broad incumbent peer because it operates a much larger, industry-funded applied-research portfolio covering overlapping themes (digital manufacturing, AI in production, sustainable manufacturing) while serving a wider corporate audience than NPI's maker/civil-society focus.

Emerging players

• Wevolver: Online platform and community for open-source hardware engineers and makers, hosting project documentation, discussions, and tutorials. Emerging player peer because it serves a closely overlapping audience (open-hardware makers, digital fabrication practitioners) and increasingly curates and distributes open-hardware content analogous to what NPI publishes via GitHub and its OpenLab network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-production-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New Production Institute