Kategorie: Batch #2

Humobility has developed an energy-efficient and sustainable mobility/vehicle concept for a human-hybrid-powered sports vehicle designed for medium-range travel. What sets it apart is its lightweight construction, its design, and its use case as a high-tech sports vehicle for green mobility in (sub)urban areas. Electric motors propel the vehicle up to 120 km/h, while the driver controls the vehicle using bicycle pedals and generates additional energy. The vehicle combines the health benefits of cycling with the driving experience and fun factor of a sports car.

N-level has developed a highly disruptive modular battery management system with a wide range of applications and significant market potential. N-level’s technology makes it possible, for example, to eliminate the formation process in battery production—which is a major bottleneck—to use rechargeable batteries and battery storage systems until the very end of each individual cell’s lifespan, or that electric vehicles can continue to operate despite a defective battery cell, or that any two electric vehicles can be directly connected to each other for energy exchange.

Quantum computers are capable of breaking conventional encryption codes in data transmission in a short time. QCG is therefore developing a cybersecurity system based on quantum cryptography, consisting of specialized hardware and software algorithms that make data transmission secure against cyber attacks. This creates a completely new level of security for business-critical networks, especially in the area of security-relevant national infrastructure and communication. It is mathematically verifiable that even quantum computers cannot decrypt this system.

Vivalyx GmbH, a spin-off of Aachen University Hospital, has developed a method for the bloodless and gentle revitalization of donor organs. Vivalyx is dedicated to saving the lives of people with organ failure by increasing the vitality and number of donor organs. The Vivalyx solution has proven to be superior in many respects in preclinical trials.

The Bochum-based startup xemX develops customized catalysts for chemical processes, particularly to accelerate key technologies for the energy transition—such as green hydrogen production—and make them independent of expensive precious metals, which are often mined and processed under environmentally harmful conditions. xemX identifies suitable materials for electrocatalysts using AI-driven, data-driven high-throughput research on high-entropy alloys. Based on a knowledge database generated through this research, the team offers consulting services and also independently develops catalysts.

Construction sand has become one of the most sought-after raw materials worldwide. As the global population grows, demand for sand has tripled, but only a small fraction of the world’s sand deposits is suitable for the construction industry. This is because it must meet specific criteria—it cannot be too round or too fine-grained—and therefore cannot simply be replaced by desert sand, which is available in abundance. The startup Zolarize, a spin-off from the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, has tackled this problem and developed a sustainable, carbon-neutral process for producing construction sand from desert sand. The process uses solar energy and consists of two steps: First, the desert sand is baked together in a sintering process and then broken up using a crusher. The material properties of the resulting granulate even exceed those of construction sand approved in Germany.