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Innovation showcase

Transformation through innovation

Find out more about the NRW innovation ecosystem in our showcase

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Success stories production environment

HUESKER Synthetic GmbH – Experience with transformation

Founded in 1861 as a cotton weaving mill, HUESKER knows about transformation. The company had to practically reinvent itself in the 1970s. Since then, it has become a globally sought-after provider of technical textiles for civil engineering, industry and agriculture. For a few years now, it has been increasingly relying on geotextiles made from PET recyclate.
Environmental success stories

Cornelsen Umwelttechnologie GmbH – Working for clean waters

So-called perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals are used in extinguishing agents, pizza boxes and outdoor clothing. They pollute the environment because they do not break down. Cornelsen Umwelttechnologie GmbH from Essen, winner of the NRW Environmental Economy Prize 2022, developed a technology that can be used to remove these chemicals from water without leaving any residue.  
WAGO GmbH & Co. KG – Gradually replace plastic
Success stories production technology

WAGO GmbH & Co. KG – Gradually replace plastic

The WAGO Group, headquartered in Minden, has been a specialist in electrical connection technology and automation for many decades. The company has now opened a new chapter in terms of transformation and sustainability: In September 2023, it brought a product onto the market for the first time that is partly made from recycled and bio-based residues.
GEMESYS GmbH – Making artificial intelligence more efficient
Energy success stories

GEMESYS GmbH – Making artificial intelligence more efficient

Artificial intelligence is currently the dominant topic when it comes to increasing digitalization. However, AI must be trained before it can be used. GEMESYS GmbH from Bochum, second in the audience award of the Innovation Prize NRW 2023, is currently developing a chip that could greatly increase the efficiency of AI.  
Circuly GmbH – Save resources by renting instead of buying
Environmental success stories

Circuly GmbH – Save resources by renting instead of buying

You don't have to own everything yourself, say Victoria Erdbrügger and Nick Huijs. Car sharing is widely known, but you can also share strollers, e-scooters and many other products. With their company circuly, they offer companies software to expand their business model from selling to renting their products.
Oskar Lehmann GmbH & Co. KG – alternatives to plastic
Production success stories

Oskar Lehmann GmbH & Co. KG – alternatives to plastic

Oskar Lehmann GmbH & Co. KG from Blomberg-Donop near Lemgo specializes in technical plastic parts, for example for the furniture and automotive industries. The proportion of recyclates and bio-based plastics is expected to continue to increase.
dermanostic GmbH – dermatologist’s practice online
Health success stories

dermanostic GmbH – dermatologist’s practice online

Why wait almost 40 days when you can do it in 24 hours? Dermanostic makes it possible. The young company from Düsseldorf calls itself a “dermatologist via app” and can, in many cases, replace visits to a dermatologist’s office with online, image-based diagnoses.
Ralf Bohle GmbH – Rolling Innovations
Mobility success stories

Ralf Bohle GmbH – Rolling Innovations

If the company name doesn't immediately mean anything to you, most readers should know the brand “Schwalbe” – at least all of them who ride bikes. “Schwalbe”, one might say, is probably the best-known brand in Germany for bicycle tires and tubes. Ralf Bohle GmbH has been concerned with sustainability for several decades, and recycling is playing an increasingly central role.
novadocs GmbH – detect cardiac arrhythmias digitally at an early stage
Health success stories

novadocs GmbH – detect cardiac arrhythmias digitally at an early stage

Many millions of people in Germany now use smartwatches. Together with an app development from North Rhine-Westphalia, these watches could in future help to detect cardiac arrhythmias early, write a digital ECG and have it assessed by specialists. The “smartcor” app is an invention of novadocs GmbH from Bad Oeynhausen, which has already been awarded a nationwide prize for it.
Environment

b.fab GmbH – Just like in nature, just more efficient

Plants bind carbon dioxide and convert the greenhouse gas into sugar and oxygen. However, the natural process is inefficient. The Cologne-based company b.fab wants to use more efficient technology to convert harmful CO2 into formic acid.
VYTAL Global – conserving resources when eating away from home
Environmental success stories

VYTAL Global – conserving resources when eating away from home

The production of disposable packaging for out-of-home food consumption in Germany pollutes the climate with over 400,000 tons of CO2 every year. The Cologne company Vytal would like to counteract this. Four years after it was founded, 6,500 partners from the catering industry and 450,000 registered users are already relying on Vytal's deposit-free reusable system. This significantly reduces resource consumption.
Jokey Group – On the way to a circular economy
Production environment

Jokey Group – On the way to a circular economy

The Jokey company, based in Wipperfürth, has been producing injected plastic packaging, such as paint buckets and yogurt cups, since 1968. It relies exclusively on polypropylene, i.e. monomaterial and no material mixtures, because this has advantages in recycling.
Fibrothelium GmbH – A new task for the silkworm
Health Technology Success Stories

Fibrothelium GmbH – A new task for the silkworm

Fibrothelium GmbH in Aachen is a technology start-up from RWTH Aachen University. Founded in 2017, it has developed a process with which an important main ingredient can be extracted from natural silk, from which the company then develops products that are temporarily used as naturally degradable implants in the human body.
Imti Enterprises GmbH – Rethinking construction
Environmental success stories

Imti Enterprises GmbH – Rethinking construction

Build a house ready to move into in months instead of years, with lots of wood and cheaper than conventional construction. A vision? Perhaps. But one that is already becoming a reality. Imti Enterprises from Düsseldorf has developed a process with which these goals can be achieved. The transformation of the real estate and construction industry has begun.
ZINQ GmbH Co. KG – Away from gas and primary raw materials
Production success stories

ZINQ GmbH Co. KG – Away from gas and primary raw materials

Companies like ZINQ from Gelsenkirchen with 50 locations worldwide consume a lot of energy and raw materials. But ZINQ in particular is also a good example of reversal of momentum through innovation: the family business is at full speed on the way to an all-round sustainable, circular economy, climate-positive business model.
Voltfang GmbH – A second life for electric vehicle batteries
Energy success stories

Voltfang GmbH – A second life for electric vehicle batteries

The batteries in electric vehicles are often replaced after three or four years. Although they still have considerable capacity, they are being recycled – and in some cases disposed of – prematurely. The innovative start-up Voltfang from Aachen proves that there is another way. The company gives the batteries a second life and thereby significantly improves their ecological balance.
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