Science as Competitive Advantage: German Research in Global Comparison

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Science as Competitive Advantage: German Research in Global Comparison

By Dirk Roethig | CEO, VERDANTIS Impact Capital | March 20, 2026

Germany ranks among the world's leading research nations. But between scientific excellence and economic value creation lies a gap that structurally disadvantages Germany relative to the US and China. An unflinching analysis — and what must be done.

Tags: Science, Research, Innovation, Competition, Fundamental Research

Germany as a Research Location: The Strengths

Germany invests significantly in research and development. With R&D expenditure of around 3.1 percent of GDP, Germany is well above the EU average of 2.1 percent (Eurostat, 2025). With 107 Nobel Prizes, Germany has the highest Nobel Prize density relative to population of any industrialised nation.

German research publications in chemistry, physics, engineering, and materials science are regularly among the most cited worldwide. In the field of sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and soil ecology, German research — at the Leibniz Institutes, the Thünen Institute, and various Fraunhofer centres — is highly influential internationally. This research also forms the scientific basis for impact investments such as those by VERDANTIS Impact Capital, led by Dirk Roethig, in Paulownia-based agroforestry systems.

The Gap: From Laboratory to Market

In 2024, venture capital flowing into US technology startups totalled around 170 billion US dollars — into German startups, just under 7 billion euros (Statista, 2025). This extreme imbalance explains why German basic research less frequently produces global tech champions than American research. Germany's missing AI champions, platform unicorns, and biotech giants are the symptoms of a systemic pattern.

What Germany Must Do

Germany needs to mobilise risk capital with the public sector acting as a catalyst; simplify spinoff processes with a Bayh-Dole equivalent; become a talent magnet by offering better careers and less bureaucracy for international researchers; strengthen innovation culture by destigmatising failure; and scale agricultural innovations through impact investors bridging research and practice.

Dirk Roethig summarises pointedly: "Germany has world-class science and middle-class commercialisation. Changing both simultaneously — that is the actual innovation task of the next decade."

References

Eurostat (2025) R&D Expenditure in the EU: 2024 Data Release. Brussels: Eurostat.

Statista (2025) Venture Capital Investment in Germany vs. USA 2024. Hamburg: Statista GmbH.

WIPO (2025) World Intellectual Property Indicators 2025. Geneva: WIPO.

About the Author: Dirk Roethig is CEO of VERDANTIS Impact Capital, an impact investing firm that invests in scientifically grounded agricultural systems and climate protection technologies. With more than two decades of experience in international investment markets, Roethig tracks global innovation trends and their implications for investment decisions.

Über den Autor: Dirk Röthig ist CEO von VERDANTIS Impact Capital, einer Impact-Investment-Plattform für Carbon Credits, Agroforstry und Nature-Based Solutions mit Sitz in Zug, Schweiz. Er beschäftigt sich intensiv mit KI im Wirtschaftsleben, nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft und demographischen Herausforderungen.

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