Which ideas can be turned into successful products? What start-up team is addressing the challenges facing society? Which start-up will create sustainable value in the future? In the final round of the TUM IDEAward, 10 teams aiming to launch start-up companies presented their ideas to the public. The award for the best ideas is granted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), UnternehmerTUM, the Center for Innovation and Business Creation, and the Zeidler Research Foundation, which provides a total of 37,500 Euros in prize money. The winners also receive individual coaching from TUM Start-up Consulting up to the time of market launch.
First place: Verdira Biotech
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used in numerous industrial products, and when released into the air in large quantities, they can pose a risk to health and the environment. For product manufacturers, this means both a great responsibility and significant economic efforts to ensure safe production processes. Verdira Biotech is reimagining how we think about air filtration, developing a bio-hybrid air filtration platform that doesn’t just trap harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but biologically degrades them into harmless substances. By combining their strengths in biotechnology, engineering, material science, bio-entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation, the team aims to push air filtration far beyond today’s industry alternatives.
The all-female team brings together a rare mix of expertise, all rooted at TUM Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability (TUMCS), including
- Dr. Amelie Skopp – a Postdoctoral Fellow, Group Leader, and Project Coordinator at the Chair of Chemistry of Biogenic Resources;
- Matea Marosevic – a doctoral researcher at the Chair of Chemistry of Biogenic Resources;
- Katerina Zafirova – a doctoral researcher at the Professorship for Innovation and Technology Management, with a focus on clean tech innovation.
The team was also supported by Mathilda Broders (LMU) on regulatory and compliance matters.
The project is closely embedded in the TUMCS environment complemented by the long-standing backing of Prof. Volker Sieber and the Chair of Chemistry of Biogenic Resources providing the research foundation and supporting this research idea from its earliest steps, as well as Florian Lintl from TUM Venture Lab Climate & Circular providing entrepreneurial guidance, and the later strategic involvement of Prof. Claudia Doblinger, adding support in the area of innovation and technology management, ensuring the project is further developed in close alignment with the innovation ecosystem.
The team was also a prominent finalist in the TUM Women Startup Award event, and continues to further develop, with the goal of advancing Verdira Biotech from a research-driven idea into a scalable deep-tech venture.
