Sustainable and climate-friendly urban development
At Green City Solutions, we work to create more liveable, greener, and more sustainable urban spaces. Our bio-digital innovations help improve air quality and the urban microclimate, among other benefits.
Real change also requires collaboration and the exchange of knowledge. That is why we are proud to be a partner of the Funktionsfassade innovation network, which — like us — builds on the “innovative potential in the field of climate-resilient urban development”.
Image: Funktionsfassade on LinkedIn
“Future technologies for sustainable building envelopes”
Under the slogan “Future technologies for sustainable building envelopes”, the Funktionsfassade network brings together leading players from companies, investors, and scientific institutions. With 36 network partners, 9 associated partners, and 7 international partners, it is a strong community working together on the challenges of the urban future and on developing and implementing forward-looking solutions for building envelopes.The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) supports this network as part of the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) , a nationwide funding programme that is open to all technologies and sectors.
Funktionsfassade at the ZIM Network Annual Conference 2025
This year’s ZIM Network Annual Conference, hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), took place in late November under the slogan “Innovation and Standardisation: Establishing Future Technologies in Markets with ZIM Innovation Networks” at the Forum Digitale Technologien (FDT) of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Instituts (HHI) in Berlin. At the event, six selected ZIM innovation networks — including their specific R&D projects— the opportunity to present themselves and their “successful results”. Because they provide “impulses and are key innovation drivers for Germany’s SME sector”.
Photo: Funktionsfassade on LinkedIn
“We are delighted that Funktionsfassade is represented at this year’s ZIM Network Annual Conference, organised on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy by the project management agency VDI/VDE-IT“, the network wrote on LinkedIn. This made it possible “o present the focus and vision of our network, our ongoing and planned cooperation projects, and the committed partners who are working together on the next generation of multifunctional and sustainable facade technologies”.
We are therefore all the more pleased that Green City Solutions, as an active partner of the Funktionsfassade innovation network, was also represented at the ZIM Network Annual Conference 2025. For us, it was the ideal opportunity to show how our bio-digital solutions can help improve air quality and the urban microclimate, while also enhancing urban spaces.
In the spirit of “taking the opportunity to exchange ideas, identify synergies, and engage in dialogue with multipliers from business, academia, and politics”, a special highlight was the visit of Gitta Connemann — Member of German Bundestag, Federal Chair of the SME and Economic Union (MIT) and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs — to the Funktionsfassade booth. As Funktionsfassade summarised on LinkedIn: “Many thanks to Gitta Connemann, Member of the Bundestag, and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, for visiting and for her interest in our booth at the ZIM Network Annual Conference 2025”.
We would like to explicitly echo and support this message of thanks: As Green City Solutions, we also sincerely appreciate the inspiring and very friendly conversation our co-founder Liang Wu had with her. We are honoured that Ms Connemann showed strong interest in our solutions for green infrastructure and urban greening.
Photos: ttz Bremerhaven
Funktionsfassade network meeting in December
To close out 2025, the innovation network once again sent a strong signal. Under the theme “Funktionsfassade 2025 – an inspiring year-end”, the largest network meeting to date took place on 3 December 2025 – “a truly wonderful milestone and a strong sign of momentum”. Our Managing Director and co-founder Peter Sänger was among the participants. Alongside GTAI, he delivered one of the “exciting expert presentations”, highlighting “current developments, practical solutions, and new perspectives for sustainable and climate-resilient facade applications”.
The response within the network underlines how relevant these topics are for the future of urban districts and building envelopes. “We were especially impressed by the open exchange between research, SMEs, and practice”, Funktionsfassade wrote afterwards. “During networking, there were many great conversations, new contacts, and a clear appetite for joint project and implementation approaches.“
Photos: ttz Bremerhaven
Sharing knowledge and shaping the future
We are convinced that the future of our cities will be greener and more liveable. Through our involvement in networks such as Funktionsfassade and ongoing exchange with experts and decision-makers, we actively advance the development of smart city solutions and climate-resilient cities.
Photo: Funktionsfassade on LinkedIn