Inventions with perspective: The country North Rhine-Westphalia presented this year’s innovation awards on Monday evening in Cologne. They have been awarded to outstanding inventors since 2008. They are endowed with a total of 200,000 euros. A jury of experts determines who gets it.
This year, the main prize in the “Innovation” category, worth 100,000 euros, went to Manfred Renner from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (Oberhausen) for a new system and process technology. For the first time, it allows the production of airgel insulation material at competitive prices, as the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced.
In the “Innovation2business” category, Marcel Biebl from the Gas and Heat Institute (Essen) and Jens te Kaat from the company Kueppers Solutions (Dortmund) were honored for an energy-saving burner for industrial product heating. It can be operated with both natural gas and hydrogen. The two will receive a total of 50,000 euros.
In the “Innovation2market” category, the 25,000 euro prize went to Christian Zenger from the company Physec (Bochum) for a miniature radar device. It makes it possible to detect manipulation of electronic devices, such as credit card readers. An audience award was also awarded.
Minister: Prize winners are courageous trailblazers
According to the ministry, NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur called the award winners “courageous trailblazers”. “They think beyond what already exists and make possible today what seemed unthinkable yesterday.” According to a statement, she emphasized that NRW offers the best conditions for innovation. “In North Rhine-Westphalia, innovation has a tradition.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240930-930-248191/1
Inventions with perspective: The country North Rhine-Westphalia presented this year’s innovation awards on Monday evening in Cologne. They have been awarded to outstanding inventors since 2008. They are endowed with a total of 200,000 euros. A jury of experts determines who gets it.
This year, the main prize in the “Innovation” category, worth 100,000 euros, went to Manfred Renner from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (Oberhausen) for a new system and process technology. For the first time, it allows the production of airgel insulation material at competitive prices, as the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced.
