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The “Starting Business” start-up service supports students and scientific staff who are starting their own business, from conception to implementation. To date, a large number of sustainability-related start-ups have been successfully founded, and there are already spin-offs of companies.
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Crafting Future
Crafting Future was founded in 2020 by students of Leibniz University and currently employs 18 staff. They represent a wide variety of courses of study: Business Administration, Business Information Systems, Social Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, International Business, Economics and Product Design.
Crafting Future develops and produces measurably sustainable reusable plastic products - Made in Germany. The startup's mission is to challenge the plastics industry, fight waste and the climate crisis with their sustainable alternatives for zero waste. The startups goal is to close material cycles by introducing effective bowl-to-bowl recycling so that resources can be reused again and again. Crafting Future want to push the use of bioplastics to create a sustainable alternative to petroleum.
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eco:fibr
Starting off as the voluntary project "Musa Fibra", which was initiated in 2017, the idea evolved into the business start-up eco:fibr GbR in 2020. A limited company (GmbH) spinoff is planned in 2022. The team currently consists of seven people who have studied life science, water- environmental- and coastal engineering, mechanical engineering and economics, among other subjects. eco:fibr has developed an environmentally friendly process for extracting cellulose from pineapple plant remains. This process makes it possible to produce sustainable pulp from a waste product, which is an alternative to conventional pulp made from wood fibers.
With their mission of "turning waste into purpose", eco:fibr aims to actively combat a throwaway culture by using existing residual materials as raw materials.
In the long term, eco:fibr wants to recycle as many plant residues as possible worldwide, and supply the alternative raw materials to the paper and packaging industry.
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Fenntec
Fenntec builds robots for weed control without the use of pesticides. The robots are designed to replace the prevailing environmentally harmful method of weeding by spraying herbicides. They will make organic food more affordable by replacing time-consuming hand weeding. Currently, the GmbH is focusing on onion cultivation. Soon, the robots will be able to work a field of up to 40 hectares and will be used on a large scale in various crops by organic farmers. A long-term goal is also the autonomisation of their robots. Fenntec GmbH was founded in May 2020. Today, the GmbH employs four people, from the Department of Computer Science and Physics and students of Mechanical Engineering at Leibniz Universität Hannover.
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Hybrid Indoor Vertical Farming
The three-person team behind the start-up project ‘Hybrid Indoor Vertical Farming’ is currently developing a vertical cultivation system for plant-based foods in a greenhouse at LUH. In vertical farming, plants are cultivated on shelving levels in a resource- and space-saving manner. In contrast to conventional indoor vertical farming systems, where cultivation is completely isolated from external influences, the start-up project's ‘Vertical Greenhouse’ concept uses sunlight as a free source of energy to reduce costs. An intelligent control system for LED lighting is used to compensate for heterogeneous lighting conditions for the plants.
By growing crops under such controlled conditions, the products are much more environmentally friendly from farm to plate. The Vertical Greenhouse concept addresses acute problems in agriculture. The circulation of a nutrient solution means that no water is wasted and the environment is not polluted by overfertilisation. Furthermore, there is no need to use any pesticides. The location-independent cultivation system allows for seasonal and local production, avoiding the long transport routes of imported goods.
The products offer end consumers seasonal, high-quality and fresh plant-based foods from local cultivation that protects the environment.
Further information is available here.
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HAIP Solutions
HAIP Solutions is a tech startup from Hannover founded in 2018. True to the motto "TechforGood" they develop, produce and distribute user-oriented hyperspectral imaging (HSI) camera solutions for B2B customers in the field of agriculture/forestry, research, food as well as recycling. The startup wants to develop technology for meaningful purposes. The special cameras offer completely new analysis possibilities, whereby in the field of agriculture or plant breeding, for example, plant stress (e.g. nutrient deficiency, diseases, drought stress) can be detected, which is not yet visible to the human eye. They are also used for sorting machines in the recycling sector, e.g. to separate different types of plastic such as PE, PP or PET and thus be able to produce recycled materials over and over again. The food industry uses hyperspectral technology, for example, to sort out foreign substances in the process chain or to check the quality of food, such as bumps on fruit that cause products to ripen too quickly. In this way, the startup wants to bring more sustainability into the supply chain. HAIP Solutions was founded by four students of Leibniz University. Currently, the team consists of seven people.
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Hypnetic
Hypnetic is a technology startup founded in 2019 by three students from Leibniz Universität Hannover. Hypnetic developed a novel energy storage solution based on a hydropneumatic concept for industry and commerce, aiming to accelerate the energy transition by providing cost- and energy-efficient energy storage systems made exclusively of sustainable materials. The technology startup reduces system costs and increases efficiency as well as durability and thus aims to improve the integration and use of fluctuating solar & wind power in the power grids. Company target is a 130 MWh installed storage capacity by 2025. This could actively save about 20,000 tons of CO2 per year compared to the current electricity mix. If the same capacity were realised with batteries, it would require about 50 tons of pure lithium and the same amount of pure cobalt, which are considered critical raw materials due to mining conditions and environmental impact.
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Nefino
Since 2014, PhD students in economics at Leibniz Universität Hannover have been working together as research associates to develop innovative solutions for the digitalisation of the renewable energy market. In 2018, the spinoff from LUH and the foundation of Nefino GmbH took place. The company now employs 18 staff, including working students thanks to the good connection to LUH.
Nefino develops innovative data analytics software and offers software solutions for the global wind and photovoltaic energy market. Its services include potential zone analysis. Using its own geo-information system, Nefino can analyse areas of different sizes (from small municipalities to entire federal states) and determine their suitability as renewable energy sites. More than 100 different land restrictions are taken into account, including nature conservation areas, building protection areas, infrastructure, height restrictions, etc.
In addition, Nefino has built an extensive wind turbine database that lists every wind turbine in Germany on a daily basis, including operator data, settlement distances and other market-relevant information. Other services include the development of decarbonisation strategies for industry and commerce as well as decommissioning cost forecasts for wind turbines.
With these solutions, Nefino offers services for the planning through to the decommissioning of wind and solar power plants for a wide range of interested parties, from electricity providers and wind farm operators to the federal states as well as land owners and municipalities.
Nefino GmbH plans to further expand its services and become the standard data and analysis service provider for wind power and photovoltaics in Germany in the long term, as well as expand its offering to other countries.
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MAS green ideas
MAS green ideas was founded in Hannover in 2022. The vision is to offer people, regardless of origin, education or status, low-threshold solutions for a more sustainable life as well as to network with each other with the aim of leaving the world a better place. With the product sustAInable with AI, the starup wants to establish decision heuristics that can be used in personal and digital product advice to understand the individual preferences of customers, promote sustainability and, if necessary, document it in a legally secure manner. The service is initially aimed at the finance and insurance industry because in the field of insurance and finance, due to the high regulatory requirements, sustainability seems to be particularly difficult to grasp. A detailed and individual sustainability profile is generated with just a few, everyday inputs. MAS green ideas works closely with its partner vtmw AG, as a specialised consultancy for technical projects in the insurance industry. The resulting synergies are used for a quick and demand-oriented expansion into other industries, and to make sustainability tangible.
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Mango.Bananen
Mango.Bananen is a zero-waste company founded in 2020 by two students in Hanover. It manufactures all of its products itself and then sells them (along with products from other companies) via its online shop (Content: German only) and at regional markets. Among other things, it sews and manufactures reusable coffee filters, tea bags, make-up removal pads, napkins, handkerchiefs and much more. These are made from 100% natural raw materials: either cotton or linen. The thread and labels used are also made from 100% organic cotton. In addition, a screen printing process with sustainable ink is used to print the fabric bags. Other products include small items made from sisal, such as scouring pads and wren nests, which are crocheted by the founders. Recently, a homemade vegan deodorant cream in a returnable jar has also been added to the range. The range also includes in-house, sustainable stainless steel bottles, dishwashing brushes and coconut shells, offering customers a wide selection of plastic-free and vegan zero-waste products.
In addition to manufacturing and selling products, the website, Instagram and Facebook pages provide insights into sustainable everyday living. This includes presenting the products, of course, but also recycling, storing and processing food, sustainable consumption, travelling by public transport and upcycling objects and clothing. One of the guiding principles is that many small steps taken by each individual can make a big difference.
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WasteSide
WasteSide is a sustainability app for students that promotes sustainable behaviour through gamification. On the platform, participants can challenge each other in various challenges – i.e. playful challenges – such as choosing a reusable cup for their coffee to go, and collect points for environmentally friendly behaviour. These points can then be redeemed for small vouchers and prizes. Register here!
The project idea impressed the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment in 2023, making the team one of the winners of the Youth Climate Competition. More information can be found here and on Instagram or LinkedIn.
