Increased brand awareness of Phytonics, 1st place Transfer Award

Phytonics won the Transfer Award with its innovative coating technology for photovoltaic systems. "We were very pleased to receive the award. It's great to see that the jury is convinced by our work. This motivates the entire team," reports Dr. Ruben Hünig, co-founder of Phytonics. In addition to intrinsic motivation, the award has also had a positive impact externally. Hünig emphasizes above all the increased awareness of the company as a result of the win, which in turn makes it easier to find investments and paves the way to mass production. The next steps towards mass production are already planned. Phytonics is currently setting up a pilot production facility in Karlsruhe. In a hall in Daxlanden, several thousand glass panels are to be anti-reflectively coated with the innovative Phytonics technology. Initial real-life tests have shown successful results. Financing for the planned mass production is to be secured by the end of 2023. With their personal success story, Phytonics would like to encourage other project teams: "By all means participate in such formats. The time required to apply is manageable and the prizes, but most importantly the attention generated, are very attractive," says Hünig.

Overwhelmed at FastForm, 1st place Ideas Award

First place of Idea Award went to the FastForm team for their groundbreaking work in battery production. The team agrees with Phytonics' motivational boost: "After initially being very surprised that we won, it was a great thrill to stand on the stage as the winner. We as a team and the whole group are very proud of the award and happy that all the hard work has paid off. The award shows us the importance of our work and motivates us even more to push forward," reports Dr. Katarina Cicvarić, project associate at FastForm. The team plans to continue the project through new collaborations and incorporate expertise from other areas to develop a full process based on initial results. "Such a format can add value to a project. You should not underestimate your own research results and their importance. Therefore, I can only give everyone the following advice: be brave and apply, it is worth it," said Cicvarić.