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2025-10-16
 

CISPA Innovation Campus to be built in St. Ingbert – with private funding

CISPA and the city of St. Ingbert have further developed their plans for the CISPA Innovation Campus and found a private-sector partner in Peter Gross Bau, which will develop the campus originally announced in 2019.

The CISPA Innovation Campus will become a reality in the near future. Thanks to a private-sector initiative launched by the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security and supported by the city of St. Ingbert, the project, which had been in preparation for several years, will soon be realized based on concrete plans.

The driving force behind the initiative is Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Backes, Founding Director and CEO of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. He decided to pursue the realization of the CISPA Innovation Campus through a private-sector initiative after the state government decided in 2025 not to pursue the concept originally developed in 2019.

Backes, who is the spokesperson for the Saarland Ambassadors and honorary citizen of the city of St. Ingbert, feels a special commitment to the city, the region, and the Saarland. In recent months, he has worked intensively with his partners to find a solution that will enable the CISPA Innovation Campus to be realized in a timely manner—exclusively on a private-sector basis.

Various locations were examined in close consultation with St. Ingbert's mayor, Dr. Ulli Meyer. The clear favorite was the site at the old freight station, just a few meters east of the future CISPA research campus. Peter Gross Bau has since acquired the site. Initial plans for the campus are already available and are expected to be finalized and presented to the public before the end of this year.

Peter Gross Bau will privately finance and build the CISPA Innovation Campus together with other regional partners. This will create a visible symbol of corporate responsibility and regional solidarity, demonstrating how private engagement can shape the future.

The new campus will offer space for approximately 600 workplaces. The CISPA Innovation Campus St. Ingbert will be a place for start-ups, innovation projects, and collaborations between science and industry. It will thus ideally complement the new CISPA research campus and permanently strengthen St. Ingbert as a center for digital innovation and cybersecurity research.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Backes, CEO, CISPA Helmholtz-Center for Information Security:

"I am delighted that we are now able to realize the CISPA Innovation Campus after all—on our own, driven by conviction and a sense of responsibility. Since 2019, this project has stood for the idea of bringing scientific excellence directly to the society and economy of the region. When it became apparent that the original plans were stalling, it was clear to me that we must not give up on this promise. I am grateful for the extraordinary initiative shown by Peter Gross Bau GmbH—namely Mr. Philipp Gross—and the city of St. Ingbert—represented by Mayor Dr. Ulli Meyer—who are providing such impressive support to CISPA in this important project. Together, we are creating something here that will endure—for St. Ingbert, for Saarland, and for the future of digital innovation in Europe."

Philipp Gross, entrepreneur and developer:

“It is a great motivation for my company and me to develop a private-sector solution for the CISPA Innovation Campus. I am grateful to Professor Backes for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the future of St. Ingbert and Saarland. The CISPA Innovation Campus shows that science, entrepreneurship, and responsibility belong together—and that you can achieve great things together when you believe in a cause.”

Dr. Ulli Meyer, Mayor of the city of St. Ingbert:

"We are incredibly grateful that Prof. Michael Backes not only brought CISPA to Saarland as the opportunity of the century, but that he has now—in addition to his demanding work at the helm of the center—also taken it upon himself to plan and successfully implement the unrealized CISPA Innovation Campus project. One could only wish for such an honorary citizen and ambassador for the future. I would also like to express my special thanks to Philipp Gross for his extraordinary commitment and willingness to contribute with his advice, assistance, and great personal dedication—financially, structurally, and conceptually. I want St. Ingbert to appeal to founders as a livable and lovable location, even in national and international competition—offering tailor-made solutions, e.g., in childcare and affordable housing. This project will keep even more of CISPA's unique added value in our city, making St. Ingbert's future even brighter."