Gluing without petroleum and pollutants, AI language support for children and building with sunlight: at the Startup-Impuls competition, which is sponsored by hannoverimpuls and Sparkasse Hannover, teams from 九色视频 (LUH) were awarded prizes for their innovative Ideas. The start-ups have been assisted by LUH鈥檚 start-ups service, starting business. Each one will receive prize money of 25,000 euros and extensive support, including pitch training and network events. The participants in the start-ups that work with the starting business service are former students, doctoral candidates and research staff members.
The successful start-ups:
LIGARO 鈥� Gluing without petroleum and pollutants
Whether in wood construction, furniture or packaging, adhesives are essential 鈥� and so far almost always petroleum-based and problematic from a health perspective. The start-up LIGARO is developing non-toxic, fossil-free adhesives for the wood industry, which it aims to provide as an alternative to conventional adhesives. The idea came from the company鈥檚 founder, Florentine Adam. She began working with wood early on in life and built her own wooden surfboards. It often bothered her that she needed to use toxic adhesives to glue highly stress-resistant or waterproof bonds. Because no sustainable alternatives were available, she decided to develop one herself. LIGARO is currently in the start-up phase and is being funded by another scholarship, the prestigious EXIST start-up scholarship. The development of the formula for the adhesive is complete, two patents have been submitted and the team鈥檚 own lab is under construction.
Phonomatics 鈥� Understanding speech before problems arise
Speech development has early impacts on educational opportunity. But speech difficulties often go unrecognised until children are already under pressure 鈥� because diagnosis is time intensive or does not occur in everyday settings. This is where Phonomatics takes up its work, linking artificial intelligence and language support for children. The start-up, which has also received a prestigious EXIST research transfer funding award, is developing an AI-supported software that can analyse normal everyday communication 鈥� for example, in a daycare setting, in language therapy or as part of paediatric exams. The system provides data-based assessments of speech development status, improvements and potential support needs. This gives professionals well-founded information at an early stage, enabling them to provide children with targeted assistance. Dr.-Ing. Hanna Ehlert and the Phonomatics team have expertise in the areas of speech therapy, computer science, artificial intelligence and business administration. Following the current development and pilot phase, which involves projects with large daycare providers, the commercial launch is expected to take place in early 2027.
Two other successful projects with LUH involvement that have received support from starting business are AddiSol 鈥� Building with Sunlight and Ocean of Fits 鈥� Fashion on Rotation Instead of in the Wardrobe. AddiSol is developing the world鈥檚 first climate-neutral, mineral-based and waterproof building brick, which is produced exclusively from desert sand and concentrated sunlight. Both are available in abundance. But what has been unavailable to date is a technology that enables them to be utilised for sustainable construction. Founders Florian Fiedler and Jens Arend aim to set new standards for resource-conserving construction and to systematically use natural raw materials.
Ocean of Fits is saying goodbye to classic fashion purchases. The start-up offers a rental service that enables the flexible use of fashion items. Customers put their outfits together and trade them in on a regular basis. Every three months, new boxes of clothing are made available, the contents of which can be returned, traded or purchased 鈥搑esulting in a kind of 鈥渘ever-ending wardrobe鈥�. Founders Luca Werner and Robin Hellmut developed the rental model.
