Tallinn Deputy Mayor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Kristjan Järvan paid a working visit to Heidelberg, Germany, focusing on strengthening innovation and business cooperation between the two cities. During the visit, the “Test in Heidelberg” programme, developed from Tallinn’s “Test in Tallinn” model, was presented, and opportunities were discussed to more closely connect the test environments of Tallinn and Heidelberg in order to support companies’ international growth.
According to Deputy Mayor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Kristjan Järvan, cooperation between the two cities creates new opportunities for companies to develop their solutions internationally.
“Testing in an urban environment gives companies an opportunity to see how a new solution performs under real-world conditions and to receive the feedback needed for its further development. Cooperation with Heidelberg allows us to take the next step and offer companies the opportunity to test their solutions in different urban environments. For Estonian companies, this creates new opportunities to validate their solutions and grow internationally, while the cities themselves can learn from each other’s experience,” Järvan said.
Heidelberg is the first German city to implement Tallinn’s test-city approach in this form. The development of “Test in Heidelberg” has been one of the main practical outcomes of the innovation partnership between Tallinn and Heidelberg.
The innovation partnership between Tallinn and Heidelberg began in spring 2025, when Tallinn’s Business Services Department and the City of Heidelberg’s science cooperation unit signed a memorandum of understanding. Its aim is to develop cooperation in entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainable urban development, technology-based solutions and digitalisation. From the outset, a key focus of the partnership has been providing companies with access to real-world urban environments in both cities.
Through Tallinnovation, three Estonian companies had the opportunity to pilot their solutions in Heidelberg in 2025. For example, the remote-driving solution developed by Estonian company ELMO Remote has been demonstrated in Heidelberg. Heidelberg representatives have, in turn, participated in the evaluation of Tallinn’s “Test in Tallinn” projects, giving companies the opportunity to present their solutions to several European cities at an early stage of development.
Connecting the test environments of Tallinn and Heidelberg will enable companies to validate their solutions in both cities, receive feedback from municipal authorities and use pilot projects as a springboard into new markets.
During the visit to Heidelberg, meetings were held with city leaders, the innovation and science cooperation team, and representatives of the local business and research ecosystem. The discussions focused on opportunities to jointly support the development and international scaling of innovative solutions, as well as possibilities for further cooperation.
Tallinnovation is a joint programme of the City of Tallinn and Tehnopol aimed at supporting the development and testing of smart city solutions and the international growth of companies. Through the programme, companies can test their solutions not only in Tallinn but also in international markets, including Heidelberg.
More information is available on the Tallinnovation website: https://www.tehnopol.ee/projekt/tallinnovation/
Source: tallinn.ee
