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Recent news on knowledge and technology transfer

4Investors - Four big research organizations host joint Investors Day

30 March 2023

This year, the four major non-university research organisations in Germany - Helmholtz, Fraunhofer, Max Planck and Leibniz - organised a joint investor event for the first time. On 29 March, a total of 40 spin-off teams from all organisations had the opportunity to show an audience of about 90 investors in Munich's Kohlebunker how their innovations will influence all of our lives in the future. For this purpose, they first stood on the big stage for pitches, before meeting personally with individual investors.

Helmholtz was represented by eleven teams, who showcased both their innovative research and their entrepreneurial successes in the fields of medical technology, materials development and energy storage, among others:

In addition to the financial boost for our teams, we are particularly excited about the new contacts and the resulting partnerships that will contribute to solutions for the major problems of our time.

The Helmholtz-Team at the Invesotors Day

KIT Spin-off Phytonics receives million-euro funding

17 March 2023

Phytonics, a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has secured a seven-figure sum in a financing round. The company has developed a coating for photovoltaic modules that, in addition to a ten percent increase in energy production compared to conventional coatings, also has the advantage of being glare-free. This makes it possible to open up new areas for photovoltaic modules, such as the surroundings of airports and railway tracks, where they were previously undesirable or prohibited due to their strong reflection of incoming light.

Further information →

[Translate to Englisch:] © Phytonics/KIT

HE alumnus Myopax receives seven million euros for cell therapy treatment

1 March 2023

Myopax, a start-up based in Berlin and Copenhagen, is researching cell and gene therapy treatments for muscle diseases. The Helmholtz Enterprise alumnus of the Max Delbrück Center was able to secure strong support for the transfer of its research into application with seven million euros from the German Ministry of Education and Research, the Helmholtz Validation Fund (HVF) and the Danish Bioinnovation Institute. The team is currently planning a human trial in which their new treatment method for bladder exstrophy-epispadias, a rare disease of the bladder sphincter, is to prove itself. Stem cells from the patient's muscle tissue are multiplied outside the body and then injected into the diseased area in order to specifically build up the muscle there. The team's goal is to scale the process up to industrial production. The resulting reduction in costs should make the procedure interesting for profit-oriented companies, among others, and thus more accessible to patients.

Myopax founders Simone Spuler and Verena Schöwel-Wolf | © Myopax

OPTSAL camera system supports situational awareness in earthquake zone

7 February 2023

Two employees of the DLR Institute of Optical Sensor Systems traveled to Turkey together with their cooperation partner I.S.A.R. Germany to support the emergency forces in the earthquake area with aerial image data. The camera system used for this purpose, which is installed in a drone, was developed by the Helmholtz Innovation Lab  OPTSAL of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Aerial photo of the earthquake area

CISPA Transfer Team shares insight about their work

19 January 2023

The Transfer Team at Helmholtz Center for Information Security (CISPA), represented by Max Wolf and Nicole Ziesche, presents a selection of their transfer activities. They give insights into the transfer mindset at the centre in Saarbrücken and proudly present the CISPA Innovation Campus. It will allow founders and researchers, in addition to the Centre's traditional support, to receive target-oriented training and to get in touch with investors and companies in order to strengthen individual and demand-oriented cooperation between science and business in the region.

CISPA press release (DE) →

Nicole Ziesche and Max Wolf , Foto: CISPA

Gérard Krause (HZI) honoured for his contriburtion to SORMAS

17 January 2023

Epidemiologist Gérard Krause of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) receives the Translational Infection Research Award of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). With his work on the epidemic management system SORMAS, he and his colleagues have contributed significantly to the fight against Lasse fever, monkeypox and COVID-19. In Germany alone, more than 130 health authorities are already using SORMAS.

SORMAS is being supported by our Spin-off Programme (HE).

Press release of HZI →
Website of SORMAS Foundation →

Prof. Gérard Krause, Photo: HZI/Verena Meier

Start-up Days

Networking for founders: The Start-up Days take place in Dresden and Bonn, alternating annually. The event is aimed at scientists who want to start their own company with an innovative idea from research. With lectures and workshops, we provide knowledge and tips for your own start-up. Start-up personalities share their experiences and report on obstacles, challenges and successes. We organize the Start-up Days together with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Leibniz Association and the Max Planck Society.

Learn more

CTO Circle

Top-level meeting: In the CTO Circle, leaders from science and industry exchange ideas. The heads of our research units meet regularly with the management boards of companies that are active in research and with leaders from universities and other non-university research institutions.

The work of the CTO Circle centers on debates on key issues in the field of research and development. The most important event is the "Falling Walls" conference.

Learn more

"The chemical industry is under enormous pressure"

With "CataGel", KIT researchers have developed a technology to make chemical synthesis processes significantly more efficient and cost-effective. An interview with Co-Founder Catavis Sandra Kröll. The full interview can be read here

Contacts

Andreas Bergner

Head of Transfer and Innovation
Helmholtz Head Office

Julian Alexandrakis

Program Manager Transfer and Innovation

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