CleanLaunchpad national final Hessen took place in Climate-KIC Centre Hessen on the 9th of October 2014. The participating teams have had more than two months’ time after the boot camp to develop their ideas while having recourse to coaching services and start-up workshops offered by TU Darmstadt Energy Center and Start-up Center HIGHEST.
A jury of six experts – lawyers, start-up coaches, practitioners and business angels – examined every idea in details on the basis of several criteria such as market and innovation potential and climate and social impact. Teams were facing a challenge of pitching their ideas in only five minutes in the way that would arouse interest of the jury and provoke the most exciting questions. The results of the jury discussion afterwards reflected a quasi-unanimous decision about three winners (two of them came from the TU Darmstadt): Sulfotools (former Smoc), OR-KESS and AlterHausVerwalter.de.
These teams go on a journey to the Innovation Festival in Valencia (Spain), the biggest Climate-KIC event, where they will compete with the winners of the other national contests at the EU Finals on the 29th of October 2014.
We congratulate the Hessian winners and wish good luck at the EU Finals!
Our winners are:
Sulfotools
What is Sulfotools about?
Business concept relies on a new method for solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) where toxic and environmentally harmful solvents are replaced against water. This gives access to SPPS under environmentally friendly, cheap and sustainable conditions, thus updating the economic viability by preventing unnecessary toxic waste and excluding/reduction of expensive organic solvents.
What is your motivation to work on your idea?
“I am strongly motivated to elaborate the green chemistry concept as a sustainable alternative for the currently used synthetic methods, allowing to reduce the negative impact of chemistry in the climate on our planet. One year ago it would seem that nothing environmentally friendly could appear in the field of solid-phase peptides synthesis, and chemists came to terms with the fact that bio-inspired molecules are synthesized under bio-hostile conditions. Today I am proud to say that with our novel approach our team at the Technische Universität Darmstadt makes a first important step towards the age of nature-friendly peptide chemistry“, says Sascha Knauer.
OR-KESS: Outer-Rotor Kinetik Energy Storage Systems
What is OR-KESS about?
The product takes the dynamic grid stabilization role from conventional power plants. Hence, it enables their shutdown without losing the supply security. This kind of highly dynamic energy storage system is the missing link to achieve the European climate change objectives as well as the German nuclear phase-out. Compared to competing technologies like capacitors, lithium-ion batteries and other flywheel systems our unique technology can be perfectly adapted to the field of application reducing the system costs and energy consumption.
What is your motivation to work on your idea?
“Six years ago I started working as a research assistant at the Institute for Mechatronic Systems in Mechanical Engineering at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. During this time I developed the outer-rotor-concept whose proof of function we provided in January 2014. Due to our success and the positive feedback we received, our working group was able to grow from one to four employees. With the publication of my doctoral thesis within the next few months I will finish my scientific work on the technology and focus on its commercialization”, disclosed to us Hendrik Schaede
AlterHausVerwalter.de
What is AlterHausVerwalter.de about?
For the energy consumer who has no knowledge about his or her energy consumption behavior AlterHausVerwalter is an online platform for an alternative real estate management that provides insights for the tenants about their energy consumptions unlike conventional property administrators. AlterHausVerwalter furthermore operates without expensive technology and is independent of the meter operator, measurement technology and metering methods.
What is your motivation to work on your idea?
“We are a small team of five with a great passion for technology and highest dedication for sustainability and care for resources. After testing different energy and metering concepts in a housing project with brilliant results (energy saving of 20-30%) we were convinced that commercializing our idea would have a great impact on our environment and climate”, replied Esther Lissel.
Text: Irina Shults, Entrepreneurship Lead of Climate-KIC Hessen
Photo: Olena Jungmann
