The competition “The Spark” The award, which will be hosted by Handelsblatt and McKinsey for the tenth time in 2025, honors exceptional startups whose ideas have the potential to sustainably transform markets and society. This year's focus is on deeptech startups developing innovative solutions to pressing societal challenges, such as climate change, demographic change, or public health.
Deeptech for societal challenges
Participation in "The Spark" is aimed at companies whose solutions are based on new scientific and technological advances. A key criterion for participation is the technology readiness level of the innovation, which must be at least TLR 3 (Proof of Concept). This means that the product must already be at an advanced stage of development before scaling.
The competition is looking for startups from various future-oriented fields, including advanced materials and nanotechnology, biotechnology, medical technology, new energy, robotics, and space technology. The solutions must not only be innovative and scalable, but also offer real customer benefits and potentially solve fundamental societal problems. The winning teams will receive media coverage in the Handelsblatt newspaper and a winner's package with benefits worth over €50,000.
Application and important dates
Participation in the competition is free. Startups from the DACH region dedicated to deep tech can apply until May 30, 2025. Processing of the application documents takes only about ten to twelve minutes. The final jury sessions will take place on September 16, 2025, before the winners are announced at a gala event on November 6, 2025.
All finalists will have the opportunity to present their innovations to a prominent jury and a high-profile audience from business, media, and politics. The event also offers networking opportunities with guests from across the industry at the after-show party.
Conditions of participation and criteria
Eligible to participate are young companies with a team of up to 500 employees that have already established their business model and have not emerged from a corporate startup. Applicants' solutions should meet the four evaluation criteria of novelty, scalability, customer value, and a team with diverse perspectives. Applications can be submitted via the online form on The Spark website.
