Kategorie: Batch #6

The RWTH Aachen spin-off AEsy combines acoustic emission technology with intelligent data analysis based on machine learning, offering the first condition monitoring system for the early detection of wear and damage in plain bearings in wind turbines. The system extracts relevant condition parameters that indicate the risk of spontaneous failure in plain bearings. This enables early intervention in the plant control system, preventing spontaneous failure and extending the service life of the plain bearings and, consequently, the entire plant. AEsy offers a Condition Monitoring-as-a-Service solution that actively links continuous condition monitoring based on acoustic emission technology with the plant control system.

Biosensor Engineering GmbH, based in Bochum, develops GaN sensors for point-of-care diagnostics and personalised medicine, which enable highly sensitive quantitative protein analysis as well as measurements of extracellular and intracellular signalling pathways, delivering results in a very short time. In future, these biosensors are expected to enable €5 breath tests in less than one minute, delivering diagnoses that are just as reliable as a PCR test, which takes 15 minutes for the same diagnosis and costs around €120. The primary target markets are human and veterinary in vitro diagnostics, as well as the pharmaceutical industry.

Cultured meat – that is, meat produced from animal cells grown in a laboratory – is regarded as a promising alternative to conventional meat production. However, high costs, scaling issues and the need to realistically replicate the texture of meat have so far stood in the way of widespread market introduction. This is where the FORMeat team from RWTH Aachen University comes in with a patented process. Using fibre spinning technology, the researchers produce fine, thread-like structures from animal stem cells that mimic the tissue of muscle cells.

To date, there are no reliable methods for verifying the authenticity of luxury animal-hair textiles. Counterfeits and inferior admixtures are rife, leading to a decline in quality and a loss of trust. The Aachen-based start-up HAIRSENSE has therefore developed a testing method to analyse the authenticity and quality of hair and fibres, based on a combination of high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and artificial intelligence. The start-up offers its own quality analyses as a service. Furthermore, it is seeking partnerships with international facility operators who can carry out hair analyses in their regional areas on the basis of software licences. In addition to animal hair analyses, textile and human hair analyses will also be offered in future, for example for the cosmetics industry. The first pilot customers for this are already in place.

The Düsseldorf-based start-up HussarX has developed a unique deterrence technology that offers both proactive threat detection and threat deterrence. The technology enables armed threats to be identified in real time, including friend-or-foe recognition, and actively deterred day and night using powerful blinding lights. HussarX’s technology combines computer vision, edge computing and specialised hardware for a precise and immediate response. The initial target markets are the protection of security forces and critical infrastructure, with security solutions for businesses and private individuals to follow.

rewafe has developed an innovative process for the recycling and purification of silicon which consumes significantly less energy and has a lower carbon footprint compared to current state-of-the-art methods. At the heart of the process is a fully integrated procedure comprising the pre-treatment of scrap, a series of ultra-purification steps and crystal growth. The technology can fully recycle silicon waste or materials containing metallurgical silicon. Laboratory-scale trials have shown that, compared to the state of the art, the rewafe process consumes only a fraction of the energy required, whilst achieving a yield of over 95%. rewafe intends to focus initially (for 5 years) on the production of high-quality, fully recycled polysilicon for solar cell manufacturing, and subsequently address the supply of high-purity polysilicon for the semiconductor industry.

Air pollution from combustion causes 7 million premature deaths annually and emits black carbon, a major driver of global warming. Current methods of monitoring black carbon are expensive, inaccurate and largely inaccessible to developing countries, which hinders progress in monitoring potential health risks and implementing measures to decarbonise society. Wuppertal-based schnaiTEC GmbH is developing an affordable, real-time, accurate and non-invasive optical measuring device for the precise and specific monitoring of black carbon particles from combustion processes. Target markets include environmental monitoring stations worldwide.

The Solingen-based start-up Wellenpuls GmbH has developed a high-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation belt designed to specifically target the deep muscles of the core, which are significantly weakened in people with chronic non-specific pain in the lumbar spine. The product is about to be launched and will next be supplemented by a digital app for device control and training analysis. Wellenpuls aims to establish itself as a leading provider of musculoskeletal health solutions over the next five years. The product is also suitable for integration into workplace health management schemes and can therefore help companies reduce absenteeism.

The Aachen-based start-up Willowprint has developed a sustainable, biodegradable wood-based printing material for additive manufacturing, which enables the production of eco-friendly products that can be recycled or composted at the end of their life cycle. Target markets include sustainable architecture (e.g. tiny houses) and the construction industry, as well as, in particular, sustainable designer furniture and modular living solutions. With its 3D wood paste, Willowprint is making an active contribution to waste prevention and the promotion of a circular economy. The innovative material enables the upcycling of waste materials, reintegrating them into the production cycle and thus minimising resource consumption.

Many products in the chemical industry are made on the basis of fossil raw materials such as crude oil and natural gas, but their use is harmful to the climate and also irreversibly consumes finite resources. The spin-off Simplyfined from TU Dortmund University has now developed a catalytic process for the first time that can be used to achieve selective partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids from vegetable oils to monounsaturated. This means that vegetable oils from e.g. rapeseed, soy or sunflower can be used as sustainable basic chemicals for a variety of downstream applications in the chemical industry, e.g. plastics, lubricants, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals.