Your ideas matter! 

In accordance with the new slogan of our Start-up Idea Competition, we at SPG and ESA BIC Austria believe this as a credo! Thus, despite our daily companion “Mr. C”., we organised our most yearned-for event online on 6 April. Once again, it proved the necessity of such an opportunity to reveal numerous astounding ideas that might never have been pitched nor been further developed without it. 

As every year, the output was exceptional! We received more than 220 international applications. Our stellar jury enjoyed the task of evaluating the 6 winners out of 18 astonishing presentations. Many thanks at this point to them! They have been offering their precious and most valuable contribution for several years! The event would not be the same without them! Likewise, we also thank all participants for their belief in themselves and their idea! Only those, who really want to make a difference, take the next step! 

Key facts:

• more than 220 international applications
• 18 finalists
• 11 jury members
• 6 categories
• 12,000 EUR prize money

And the winners are:

Mobility

Project:  Green Brakes
Presented by: Marcel Alper

GreenBrakes enable pure “brake by wire”. No hydraulics, no pneumatics, no valves, no hoses. Screw on, plug in, go. GreenBrakes offer shorter stopping distance, less CO² and fine dust, and less maintenance.  

Energy & Environment

Project:  Flixbill
Presented by: Alexander Winkler

Flixbill develops a sustainable finance solution for retailers and consumers by combining mobile payment with a digital receipt, creating purchase process optimizations and bringing insight to personal finances. Hence this can save time, money, and natural resources!

Health

Project:  BISY BIOS
Presented by: Claudia Rinnofner

Nature provides us with an inspiring range of different proteins. Protein-based (biological) molecules have unique physical and biochemical properties and are biodegradable. Our mission is to provide solutions for the recombinant production of natural protein-based biomaterials and enzymes.

Special Societal Impact

Project:  seedcup 
Presented by: Agatha Sowinski & David Minatti-Krauhs

Seedcup wants to revolutionise the cup market by making use of coffee ground and thus producing biodegradable cups. This way environmental sustainability will be ensured.

Digital Economy & ICT

Project: Perceived3D
Presented by: Chetan Kumar

Perceived3D aims to cater to the needs of amateur artists and content creators, who require but scarcely have access to sophisticated 3D object scanning equipment. The goal is to surpass existing solutions by leveraging cutting edge research to deliver a high quality real-time 3D scanning app that performs to the maximum on any mobile phone, and is effortlessly intuitive to use.

Space

Project: Charge Made Good
Presented by: Andrew Cass

CMG Charge Made Good is the key to zero-emissions sailing yachts.  Utilizing a new propeller design and a clever algorithm, energy management on a sailing yacht can be managed such that it has unlimited range, unprecedented comfort and increased safety compared to existing vessels.

Congrats to all winners and thank you to all finalists and applicants! You were great! Looking forward to next year's Start-up Idea Competition!