More than 3,000 visitors attended this year's TUM Entrepreneurship Day to learn from each other and exchange ideas on innovation trends. Students, researchers, investors, and industry representatives met for pitches, workshops, and panel discussions. Over 100 startups participated, one of which received the TUM Presidential Entrepreneurship Award. The award recognizes business ideas that are significantly based on research findings, have high growth potential, and have demonstrated initial financing success. It carries a prize of €10,000, donated by the Friends of TUM association.
This time the TUM Presidential Entrepreneurship Award went to Reverion for the development of its highly efficient biogas plants. According to the startup, the power plant's efficiency is 80 percent. If there is a surplus of electricity in the grid, for example from wind and solar energy, the plant can quickly switch from electricity generation to electricity use. It then produces hydrogen or methane, thus also serving as an energy storage device and to stabilize the grids.
Founded in 2022, the startup emerged from a research project at the Chair of Energy Systems. It received funding from the TUM Venture Lab Chemspace, the Xpreneurs incubator program, and the Techfounders accelerator program. Today, Reverion is successfully operating on the market with more than 100 employees.
Further finalists of the TUM Presidential Entrepreneurship Award
The final of the Presidential Entrepreneurship Awards was also reached Planet A FoodsThe team has developed a process that allows them to produce a cocoa-free chocolate alternative from local plants. The advantage over using cocoa beans: cultivation requires less water, no deforestation is required, and transport routes are significantly shorter. The founding team studied at the Chair of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science and in mechanical engineering and received support from the TUM Venture Lab Food Agro Biotech.
Also in the final round was Robco with its robot systems for small and medium-sized businesses. These are easy to install and intuitive to use. No special knowledge is required for the software either. Because the robots are modular, they can be adapted for various applications. The startup also offers the robots for rent. The technology behind them is based on research at the Chair of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Real-Time Systems. The founders have received funding from the Xpreneurs Incubator and the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM), among others.
