On the way to becoming the future region of mobility Regional Transformation Network of the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg Region (ReTraSON) extended until the end of 2026

The Braunschweig-Wolfsburg region is increasingly positioning itself as a leading centre of excellence for sustainable mobility – supported by strong scientific institutions, innovative companies and a culture of cooperation under the leadership of Allianz für die Region GmbH. In order to consistently accompany this transformation process, the ReTraSON transformation network will be extended by one year until 31 December 2026. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) is supporting the initiative with an additional two million euros. Technische Universität Braunschweig is involved with a total of four institutes via the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology.

Following the successful completion of the analysis and conception phase and the publication of a transformation strategy for the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg region in June 2025, the implementation phase is now beginning. In order to continue actively promoting change in the regional mobility industry, regional partners from science and industry are being funded with around 1.5 million euros. These include the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology (NFF) with four institutes of Technische Universität Braunschweig, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). Prof. Dr. David Woisetschläger, TU Braunschweig, comments:

“We are one of the strongest regions in terms of research in the field of mobility. The challenge is to translate this strength into successful innovations. The expertise is there, but it is spread across different institutions. One key is therefore to build an innovation ecosystem for the mobility of the future, in which use cases in business operations are continuously improved and a nucleus for replicable business models is formed.”

Four fields of action – four strategies for the future

Preparations for new, practice-oriented modules, instruments and joint projects have been underway since the second half of 2025. The year 2026 will be the central interface between analysis and implementation.

Thomas Ahlswede-Brech, member of the management board of Allianz für die Region GmbH, says of the strategy process to date: “It is impressive to see how committed the nearly 3,000 participants have been in this three-year participatory process. Together, we have initiated a sustainable strategy and hope that this impetus will enable us to position the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg region innovatively for the challenges in the automotive and supplier industry, so that we can continue to position ourselves as an attractive and forward-looking business location with a strong transformation network.” The aim is therefore to translate the recommendations for action developed in the first phase into concrete projects.

The transformation of the regional mobility industry must take place at various levels: in addition to the technological side, occupational psychology aspects in particular must also be taken into account. Prof. Dr. Simone Kauffeld, TU Braunschweig, comments:

“The changes brought about by digitalisation, decarbonisation, demographics and deglobalisation are fundamentally transforming the world of work. Future skills such as sustainable working, data literacy and self-directed learning are becoming increasingly important. Transformation needs change agents: human resources development must be used to drive organisational development.”

An overview of the interim results of the fields of action:

Cooperation and innovation as the key

Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. David Woisetschläger (Institute for Automotive Economics and Industrial Production, TU Braunschweig), the ‘New Business Models’ field of action has developed a transformation strategy that supports regional companies with a cooperative innovation approach in testing and successfully implementing new business models. The result is a practice-oriented strategy paper that outlines concrete measures and cooperation models for successful transformation in the regional mobility industry.

Strengthening competencies and actively shaping change

In the ‘Future of Work’ field of action, led by Prof. Dr. Simone Kauffeld (Institute of Psychology, Department of Work, Organisational and Social Psychology, TU Braunschweig), the ReTraSON project has identified key levers for how companies in the mobility industry in south-east Lower Saxony can actively shape the transformation of the world of work – through strategic skills development, tailor-made training formats, effective onboarding processes and enhanced knowledge transfer. The recommendations for action developed offer companies concrete approaches for preparing employees for new requirements in a targeted manner and shaping change in a sustainable, participatory and future-proof way.

Thinking regionally about the mobility transition

In order to shape the transition to climate-friendly and needs-based mobility in south-east Lower Saxony, the transformation strategy recommends the targeted expansion of locally coordinated charging infrastructure, the increased use of renewable energies and greater promotion of bidirectional charging in the ‘Infrastructural Transformation’ field of action led by Dr. Henning Mosebach (Institute of Transport Systems Engineering, German Aerospace Centre) recommends the targeted expansion of locally coordinated charging infrastructure, the increased use of renewable energies and greater promotion of bidirectional charging. In addition, the combination of automated public transport services in urban areas and digitally controlled, demand-oriented mobility solutions in rural areas should enable sustainable transport services to be realised and motorised private transport to be significantly reduced.

Dr. Tobias Hesse, German Aerospace Centre (DLR), adds: “Cooperation between public and private actors is crucial for the sustainable development of the region. Digital infrastructure can be used to network the systems of a wide variety of actors in order to enable smart and efficient services in the region. In the mobility and energy sector, particular attention should be paid to public transport access, intermodality and automated public transport, as well as charging infrastructure development and energy management.”

Focus on robotics and key technologies

In the ‘Technology’ field of action, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Vietor (Institute of Design Engineering, TU Braunschweig) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roman Henze (Institute of Automotive Engineering, TU Braunschweig), a technology-oriented transformation strategy was developed for the automotive region of south-east Lower Saxony. Based on systematic technology screening and scenario-based analyses, a digital technology portfolio was created to support companies in the strategic planning and implementation of future key technologies. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Vietor comments: “The mobility industry in south-east Lower Saxony is facing a profound technological transformation. Over 40 key technologies were analysed in ReTraSON and a regional transformation strategy was developed. Key success factors include promoting innovation, cooperation between industry and research, and further training. The technological future holds great opportunities, but requires active, strategic action by all regional players.”

The complete transformation strategy is available for download here: https://retrason.de/strategien-und-analysen/