LOCATION
Tieranatomisches Theater | Philippstraße 13 | 10115 Berlin
MODERATION
Sebastian Kiss | Innovation Manager, Humboldt University Berlin
from 14:30 ADMISSION
15:00 WELCOME & PRESENTATION
Professor Stefan Hecht | Founding director, Center for the Science of Materials Bertin
Rainer Lüdtke | Executive Director, Industrial Research Foundation
Daniela Rings | Head of Innovation Management & IP Services, Humboldt-Innovation GmbH
PRESENTATION BLOCK I
15:15 Hocheffiziente AEM-Wasserelektrolyse
15:30 COIBS – New batteries based on solvent co-intercalation
15:45 GrOwn Stent
16:00 COFFEE BREAK
PRESENTATION BLOCK II
16:15 Endless industries
16:30 MANA energy
16:45 Chemical-free process for the fabrication of mycelium-based foams and films
17:00 Presentation of the T!Raum GreenCHEM
Martin Rahmel | Managing Director, Chemical Invention Factory
17:15 Sciencepreneurs – von der Uni zum Unicorn
Oliver Hasse | Managing Director, Innovation Network for Advadced Materials e. V.
17:25 AWARDING OF THE WINNERS
17:45 GET TOGETHER & BUFFET
Jury & Keynote speaker



Dr. Kampen is head of the Components business unit and head of business unit development at SPECS Surface Nano Anlysis GmbH. At the Laboratory of Solid State Physics, at the Gerhard-Mercator-University GH Duisburg, he wrote his PhD thesis, received his doctorate and became a PostDoc in this field. Afterwards he habilitated at the Institute of Physics at the Chemnitz University of Technology. Dr. Kampen also already gained international academic experience by doing research at the University of Cincinnati in the USA, as well as being a visiting professor in Japan at Nagoya University and Chiba University. In addition to his leadership roles at SPECS Nano Analysis GmbH, Dr. Kampen is also a private lecturer in solid state physics at the Technical University of Berlin and supports start-ups as a mentor in the Innovation Network for Advanced Materials (INAM).


Stefan Hecht heads the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Functional Materials at Berlin’s Humboldt University where his team is developing molecular materials and processes to address pressing technological challenges. Particular focus is on designing and exploiting photoswitchable molecules to remote-control materials and devices as well as their manufacturing. Together with Martin Regehly he invented xolography and cofounded xolo GmbH to commercialize their volumetric 3D printing technology. He is currently setting up the Center for the Science of Materials (CSMB) to focus materials related research activities in Adlershof, and beyond, to bridge institutions, disciplines, and cultures. Professor Hecht is dedicated to support young researchers and aid their careers in science – future made in Berlin!

Dipl.-Ing. Martin Rahmel has been director of the Chemical Invention Factory at TU Berlin since 2020 and is responsible for building a specific ecosystem to enable innovation in green chemistry through successful transfer. His involvement is based on his experience as managing director and co-founder of DexLeChem GmbH, a science-based spin-off from the excellence cluster “UniCat”. Mr. Rahmel came back to the university as an entrepreneur and supports more than 15 different spin-off and technology transfer projects. Mr. Rahmel graduated in industrial engineering with a specialization in technical chemistry in 2005, at the Technical University of Berlin, where he was also a research assistant at the Chair of Strategic Corporate Management from 2005 to 2010. As a passionate fly fisherman, he is also the first chairman of an environmental protection association with over 140 members who are actively involved in the renaturation and reintroduction of Atlantic salmon in Brandenburg.
Finalists



Dr. Malte Klingenhof,
Taban Mottale-Sarab,
Paul Buchheister
Technische Universität Berlin
Our research focuses on materials science and catalysis of nanostructured materials for clean energy storage and conversion technologies (hydrogen fuel cell, high energy density batteries, (photo)electrochemical conversion of solar energy/electricity to fuels and chemicals). Our research contributes to the fundamental understanding of these technologies and their devices and will help to make the foundation for clean energy technologies in the future a reality. Therefore, we are contributing to large-scale deployment in electric mobility and excess electricity storage and conversion, two of the key technologies today. In this research, iridium-free catalysts for alkaline membrane-based electrolytic cells with PEM efficiency (>2 A/cm² at 1.8 V) have been developed. The electrolytic cells are iridium-free thanks to highly active nickel-iron catalysts and, for the first time, manufactured in exclusively scalable processes. The result is catalyst coated membranes that are widely used in PEM electrolysis and fuel cell processing. Thus, PEM manufacturers can easily adapt AEM technology, especially the presi valent and highly active catalysts, into their processes.


Dr. Guillermo Alvarez Ferrero,
Dr. Katherine Mazzio,
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
A rising world population that requires higher energy demand, in conjunction with a more advanced and technological economy, has notably increased global energy consumption. In turn, the continuous increment of fossil fuel usage has demanded the development of clean, efficient, and sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies. The implementation of renewable energies has accelerated, and rechargeable batteries play an essential role in overcoming fluctuations in electricity generation. Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a compelling counterpart to conventional lithium-ion batteries, with very attractive properties such as a larger natural abundance of sodium, more-ethical sourcing of materials by elimination of heavy metals, and a potentially low cost. To this end, we have recently developed the first proof-of-concept co-intercalation battery, consisting of two electrodes that follow a co-intercalation reaction, which enables a rapid and efficient electrochemical process.



Alexander-Jassin Breitenstein-Attach,
Marvin Steitz,
Yimeng Hao
Charité Universitätsmedizin
Annually 1.35m newborns suffer from a congenital heart defect (CHD), of which 400,000 require heart valve replacement. All currently available heart valve prostheses are specifically made for adults and are not able to adapt to the children’s somatic growth, resulting in 5 re-operations until the child is fully grown. The research group GrOwnValve of the Charité – University Medicine Berlin and the German Heart Centre Berlin has successfully developed a transcatheter heart valve replacement (TVR) that has growth potential since it is made from the bodies own living tissue. This prosthesis can be minimally invasively implanted in adults, using a non-absorbable and durable stent which is available on the market. However, for the use in growing children, the stent needs to dissolve over time, so it does not inhibit somatic growth. This stent can be seen as the missing piece to a paediatric TVR.
Within this framework we want to exploit the current advances in material sciences and combine an innovative absorbable stent material, called Resoloy, and combine it with a newly developed polymer coating. This coating enables a precise adjustment of the absorption time whilst minimizing foreign body reactions. Successfully developing an absorbable stent for a paediatric TVR could potentially set a new standard of care in paediatric cardiology, reducing the amount of needed interventions from 5 to 1, thus, lowering the burden of the children, the parents, the hospital and eventually the whole healthcare system.

Onur Kaba,
Mathias Czasny,
Stephan Koerber
Technische Universität Berlin
The object of this project is the automated additive manufacturing of lightweight and mechanically strong prosthetic sockets.
For this purpose, a continuous fiber-reinforced material developed by the applicants’ working group is used, which can be processed using additive manufacturing technologies developed in-house.
Continuous fiber-reinforced plastics are used in many industries because of their high strength and low density. Their processing usually means high personnel and technical effort.
With the help of the new material and the associated manufacturing technology, automated additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced complex structures is possible.
These properties are particularly suitable for the production of prosthetic sockets, as they have to be individually manufactured and are subject to high mechanical loads.



Barbora Balcarova,
Prof. Dr. Michael J. Bojdys,
Dr. Goshtasp Cheraghian
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Battery technology forms the backbone for electric mobility and mobile communications helping us cut carbon emissions and stay connected. The new generation of more integrated smarter devices will require batteries that are longer lasting, more performant, smaller, flexible, durable and sustainable.
Based on our two patents, we will develop (1) batteries in portable, hand-held format that are at least x5 to x10 more performant than any other commercial product, that are (2) flexible and thin, and (3) durable while being sourced from (4) more sustainable feedstocks. Our battery systems are unique because of porous semi-conducting polymers that enable mass and charge transport and that were developed in our labs. Unlike existing methods for battery production, our polymer composites grow during the assembly process on the metal current collectors.
Our devices have outstanding properties while being made from Earth’s most abundant elements such as C, N, S, Si instead of rare, toxic metals. They reach the theoretical limit for Li-S and Li-Si-based batteries under thermal and mechanical stress, while being produced in greener, more sustainable ways.



Dr. Ulla Simon,
Huaiyou Chen,
Dr. Maged Bekheet
Technische Universität Berlin
From a functional and sustainable point of view, fungi-based materials are a promising new class of materials for various applications. Here we present an innovative manufacturing process for producing biodegradable paper-like films and super lightweight foams from 100% fungal mycelium. Our manufacturing process uses inactive fungal mycelium and does not require adding any organic solvents, corrosive acids/bases, or chemical additives. Various customized and individual product properties can be obtained by controlling the process’s conditions and further functionalization. Our process paves the way to increase product diversity of sustainable fungi-based materials with new properties for various demanding applications, such as packaging of customized products, food, adsorbents for water purification, supports for catalysts or energy storage, and sound-absorbers for interior design. Thus, it can advance the substitution of petroleum-based products towards a more sustainable world.