Plant and mechanical engineering is the foundation of the intermediate product industries. Consequently, this sector forms the backbone of the German economy. It supplies complex products for all industries and in turn purchases technologically demanding products. Engineers in Rhine-Neckar, in collaboration with universities and research institutions, devise and construct novel plants and machinery that are efficient and environmentally friendly. The spectrum ranges from energy generation, storage, and transmission to industrial and power plants to transport and infrastructure.

In 1886, Carl Benz invented the automobile in Mannheim. Today, the automotive sector is one of Rhine-Neckar's key industries and employs more than 61,000 people. In Wörth, Mercedes-Benz produces up to 470 trucks a day in the largest truck plant in the world. The appropriate engines come from Motorenwerke Mannheim. Even the Mercedes Cito city buses are manufactured in direct proximity. What's more, John Deere in Mannheim produces more than 35,000 tractors a year in the biggest agricultural machine plant outside of the United States.

Numerous companies in Rhine-Neckar cover the entire value-added chain of the automotive industry, from research and development to specialist suppliers. Companies in the region benefit from two automotive clusters in the immediate vicinity, which perfectly complement each other.

The concentration of research institutions and life science businesses has created a strong biotechnology network in Rhine-Neckar. The roughly 200 partners in the cluster are biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare companies, academic research and educational institutions, but also suppliers, industry-specific service providers, local authorities, and associations, as well as private investors.

The chemical industry is firmly rooted in Rhine-Neckar. Since the start of industrialisation in the 19th century, it has been the backbone of the economy and plays an important role in cooperation between research and development. About 40,000 people work in chemical companies and an even greater number of employees in Rhine-Neckar are closely connected in the upstream and downstream processing industry. This sector is a good example of how old industrial tradition can transform into pioneering innovation.

The most well-known industry representative is BASF. At its headquarters in Ludwigshafen, the company operates the largest integrated chemical facility in the world. Covering about ten square kilometres and with around 35,000 employees, it is also the largest industrial complex in Europe.

In this business environment, the region also offers excellent conditions for small and medium-sized chemical companies.

The future energy supply needs to be environmentally friendly while being safe and affordable for all. To achieve this goal, more than 35,000 people from science and industry in Rhine-Neckar are working together on innovations for generating renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and creating intelligent energy storage systems. This opens up new business models for energy providers, whilst regional businesses benefit from intelligent energy management. It is one of the main reasons why the regional energy sector is one of the fastest-growing industry branches. Numerous companies are successful in energy plant engineering and in decentralised energy generation.

Information and communications technology has had a lasting impact on virtually all areas of life in the past decades. Today, the application of IT is a key success factor in nearly all divisions and sectors of business. It also contributes greatly to the national economy. In the Rhine-Neckar region, there are about 4,500 IT companies, which make up more than 37,000 jobs and include global players such as SAP and SAS. SAP was founded in the Rhine-Neckar region and has its headquarters with about 14,000 employees in Walldorf.

Rhine-Neckar is an exemplary health region, demonstrated by its full-service medical care and the collaboration between resident doctors in networks. Two university clinics and numerous hospitals provide the best possible emergency and in-patient care. The major companies in the region take on a leading role in corporate healthcare. A total of about 120,000 people are employed in the healthcare industry.

In translational medicine – the interface between preclinical research and clinical development – the scientific institutions in Rhine-Neckar are at the forefront of national research, particularly in research of cellular processes. The combination of population-based and large-scale clinical cohort studies is unique across Germany and makes it possible to map out healthcare processes in the long term and across multiple systems.