GründerGeist 2023: Victory for medtech startup mo:re
The GründerGeist, organised by the Wirtschaftsjunioren (young entrepreneurs) of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, is the city's most traditional startup competition. Almost 50 applications were received for the 17th edition and seven companies made it to the finals. The first three places went to mo:re, M2TECH and Recyclabs. Oclean received a special prize.
For the first time, the GründerGeist finals took place at the Körber-Stiftung. The foundation awarded a special prize for social entrepreneurship to Oclean, an initiative that organises waste collection campaigns. Among others, myndwerk GmbH qualified for the actual competition with a relationship app. Also taking part in the final pitch were Heisenware with a software construction kit for apps, CarbonStack with a solution to make forests fit for climate protection, and KONVOI with an alarm system for trucks.
Recyclabs develops new technology for recycling
Third place and 2,500 euros in prize money went to Recyclabs. The startup had already won at Hamburg Innovation Award in 2022, at that time still under the name DePla. The award was given for a process to make the recycling of the widely used plastic PET more effective. It can be used, for example, in the recycling of plastic bottles, but also of clothing. Recyclabs plans to build a large plant for this purpose in the coming years, which will be located in the Netherlands for organisational reasons.
M2TECH detects methane leaks
Compared to CO2, the gas methane is 84 times more harmful to the climate. The unwanted leakage of methane during the production and distribution of natural gas is therefore a serious problem and is far too rarely detected in time. The startup M2TECH, that is currently emerging, is developing a device, that can detect such leaks. Matthias Schmittmann, one of the founders, has a lot of experience. In 2016, he won the GründerGeist competition with bentekk, which was also about the detection of harmful gases. This year he accomplished second place and 5,000 euros.
mo:re creates alternative to animal testing
Something really big could be happening right now at mo:re. At least that is the opinion of the jury, which awarded the startup the first place and 10,000 euros. mo:re is building a laboratory robot, that will be used in medical research. Software supported by artificial intelligence controls the development of drugs, which no longer requires experiments on animals. Mini-organs, that can be grown in a very small space, serve as a substitute. The technology is already available basically and is in great demand.
