2011 Competition winners
World leader in habitat, Saint-Gobain has just organized its third global innovation competition, aimed at rewarding start-up companies offering the most innovative solutions in the fields of habitat, energy and the environment.
Lauréats du concours "Saint-Gobain et les start-up" 2011 (© Lars Behrendt)On January 18th, 2011, the Saint-Gobain booth at the BAU international trade fair in Munich, Germany, saw nine start-up finalists fight it out in a "speed-dating" session to win over the jury chaired by Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain.
The panel of judges included senior Saint-Gobain executives and in-house experts in the habitat, energy and environment fields. The jury singled out the three winners based on the quality and originality of their project:
• Trovotech GmbH won the competition and received a prize of €25,000.
• crystalsol GmbH and SOLEÏS Technologie each picked up a prize of €10,000.
The winners will work with the NOVA External Venturing team, the Saint-Gobain department dedicated to establishing strategic partnerships between the Group and start-ups, in order to explore partnership opportunities with Saint-Gobain. Partnerships may be technological (co-development, licensing agreement) or commercial (e.g. integration into a system, production or distribution agreement) with the likelihood of accelerating the start-ups' development and growth.
Video from Nova Awards 2011 competition
More Information about the winners:
Trovotech GmbH, a German start-up created in 2000, produces glass particles in an innovative high temperature extrusion process. With their physically modified and chemically highly active surface the obtained glass particles, called TROVO®powder, can be used for new functional and cost competitive additives in different applications and business fields, for example to achieve catalytic effects in polymers. By modifying TROVO®powder with silver and/ or zinc Trovotech produces TROVO®guard, which incorporated in products protects them against germ contamination.
crystalsol GmbH, an Austrian start-up created in 2008, develops an innovative type of flexible photovoltaic module mainly for the building integration market. The technology offers several advantages: versatile applications as modules can be flexible, transparent, colored and tailor made in size and shape, cost savings of 50-60% compared to current industry average and high availability of raw materials. Currently crystalsol is ramping up from 5x5 cm² monolithically and semi-automated produced modules to a continuous roll-to-roll production line of up to 5 MWp.
SOLEÏS Technologie, a French start-up created in 2009, offers innovative solar potential analysis solutions. SOLEÏS is able to calculate the solar potential of a given site as well as the efficiency and the return on investment of a photovoltaic installation, in order to provide a technical and a financial report in less than 15 minutes. The company develops its activities in two areas: technological tools for the photovoltaic industry through a complete range of Solar Potential Analyzers and consulting for individuals and professionals who need an independent solar potential analysis.
