Vecco:net has been implemented as an innovation network funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the ZIM programme (https://www.zim.de/ZIM/Navigation/DE/Meta/Englisch /englisch.html ). Funding was provided for an initial 18-month start-up phase (Phase 1); at the end of this start-up phase, the network members decided to continue the network from the beginning of 2023 with finance from own resources. Access to funding through national and European grants is provided for the joint implementation of collaborative R&D projects. As far as possible, public funding is applied to finance the development and industrial implementation of alternative technologies.