Schleswig-Holstein is adapting its settlement strategy to changing conditions

Schleswig-Holstein is adapting its settlement strategy to the changes in the world. In the future, more emphasis will be placed on companies in the security and defense industries, renewable energies, life sciences as well as the food and digital industries, said Economics Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen (CDU). At the same time, foreign source markets such as China and the USA are becoming less important.

Madsen and the managing director of Economic Development and Technology Transfer Schleswig-Holstein GmbH (WT.SH), Ulrike Wielatt, emphasized that they were satisfied with the progress of the settlements in the first half of 2026.

Thinking in terms of value chains

When relocating, people want to think less in terms of individual sectors and more in terms of value chains, says Madsen. “For a climate-neutral industrial country, we not only need wind turbines, but also companies that develop storage systems or build individual components.”

The SPD state chairman Ulf Kampf called the revision of the settlement strategy “sorely necessary”. The number of companies setting up shop has been declining in recent years. “In the end, the only thing that matters is whether more companies actually come to Schleswig-Holstein, invest here and create long-term jobs,” says Kampfer.

Buchholz criticizes the lack of a roadmap to climate neutrality

The economic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Bernd Buchholz, also called the update overdue, as many general conditions have changed significantly in recent years. The basic direction is therefore correct. However, the former economics minister criticized the fact that the goal of a climate-neutral industrial country by 2040 was being used as a marketing slogan without having a concrete roadmap.

The spokesman for economy and settlements of the CDU parliamentary group, Andreas Hein, called it consistent and correct to clearly define the goal of becoming a climate-friendly industrial country by 2040 in the settlement strategy. Renewable energies have given Schleswig-Holstein almost a unique selling point. “Nevertheless, we want to be attractive not only to energy-intensive companies, but to companies from all sectors,” says Hein.