Simply shop sustainably via app: Ruben Hammele, Samira Huber and Jerom Schult win the Sparkasse zu Lübeck 2023 start-up prize with their idea for “EcoCheck”. Their app uncovers hidden emissions and enables consumers to make more sustainable purchasing decisions. The founders accepted the 10,000 euro start-up prize from the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, and the Management Board of Sparkasse zu Lübeck, Oke Heuer, on Wednesday, 29 November 2023.
Lübeck: It was a close decision, but in the end Ruben Hammele, Samira Huber and Jerom Schult won over the jury of the Sparkasse zu Lübeck Founder’s Prize with their “EcoCheck” app. The EcoCheck team from the University of Lübeck is developing an automated life cycle analysis that enables companies to calculate emissions at product level. With the knowledge gained from this, companies can make their products more sustainable. In addition, the automation of the emissions calculation makes it possible to estimate the emissions for around 80 percent of products in the food retail sector. This data will be made available to consumers in the EcoCheck app, helping them to make more sustainable purchasing decisions.
Teams from the world of science were invited to submit their innovative concepts for potential or already realized start-up projects for the start-up prize. An eight-member jury consisting of members of Sparkasse zu Lübeck, the universities, the Lübeck Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Lübeck Technology Center, Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH, the Economic Development Agency and a member of the winning team of the last Founder’s Prize evaluated the ideas submitted. 12 teams submitted concepts, the following projects were nominated (in alphabetical order):
“EcoCheck”: an app that makes it easier to make sustainable choices when shopping
“Juno Nutrition”: a digital advice platform for nutritional issues during the desire to have children, pregnancy and breastfeeding
“Metadine”: a foodtech startup for personalized nutrition solutions
“Splitbot”: software designed to automate administrative processes in companies
“StickTo”: an app that presents the entire German job profile on job cards in a clear and concise way
“Valmol”: aims to revolutionize the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases
High-profile guests from science, business, politics and public life took part in the celebratory event on November 29, 2023 in the Audimax of the University of Lübeck and the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences. The event was hosted by the Managing Director of Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH, Anna Lena Paape.
Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of the Interior Sabine Sütterlin-Waack congratulated the winning team and all participants in the competition. “You are role models for young people who have good ideas,” said the Minister. “We have seen exciting ideas, coherent concepts and, above all, a lot of courage at the Start-up Award. We need creative people who dare to take the step of founding a company. Start-ups increase the innovative strength of our economy. We all benefit from this.” Sütterlin-Waack thanked the University of Lübeck and the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, especially the university lecturers, for their commitment to supporting the founders. The Minister also thanked the initiators of the competition for their support. “Sparkasse zu Lübeck’s generous endowment of the start-up prize is a further incentive for the path to self-employment.”
Oke Heuer, member of the Management Board of Sparkasse zu Lübeck AG, confirms: “Sparkasse zu Lübeck is firmly anchored in Lübeck and has been successfully assuming responsibility for its actions, the future of Lübeck and the people who live in this region for more than 200 years. The awarding and presentation of our start-up prize is in keeping with this. This prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, is being awarded for the eighth time. With our start-up prize, we specifically support innovative ideas from the fields of research and science as well as the connection and linking of these ideas with start-up initiatives and entrepreneurship in Lübeck as a science and business location. Because gaining knowledge from research alone is not enough. In view of the challenges of our time, it is at least as important to implement these successfully and make them usable.”
The President of the University of Lübeck, Gabriele Gillessen-Kaesbach, adds: “The award ceremony is a very special event because it highlights the bright minds with an entrepreneurial spirit who study and work on our campus. They all want to make a contribution to the transfer of knowledge to science and society – I would like to congratulate all applicants once again. You can be sure of our support and let me take you on your way: Start-ups are welcome at the University of Lübeck.”
The Vice President for Research and International Affairs at TH Lübeck, Prof. Dr. Karen Cabos, concludes: “As a member of the jury, I was impressed by the commitment of all the teams. They address important social issues such as sustainability or healthy nutrition and provide solutions that are reflected in the sophisticated business concepts.”
About the Sparkasse zu Lübeck Founder Award
The “Gründerpreis der Sparkasse zu Lübeck” , sponsored by Sparkasse zu Lübeck AG, awards a total of 10,000 euros to attractive start-up concepts from the Technische Hochschule Lübeck, the University of Lübeck and the UKSH Campus Lübeck. It is important to the Sparkasse to support young academics with their pioneering ideas and to promote entrepreneurial thinking and action on the part of the founders. The Sparkasse has therefore sponsored the “Gründerpreis der Sparkasse zu Lübeck“ since 2008. For the eighth time now, attractive start-up concepts not only from the University of Lübeck and the UKSH Campus Lübeck, but also from the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences are being honored.
This year’s jury consisted of the following people: Prof. Dr. Stefan Fischer (University of Lübeck), Prof. Dr. Karen Cabos (Lübeck University of Applied Sciences), Bastian Alexander Spendler (Sparkasse zu Lübeck), Dr. Sabine Hackenjos (Lübeck Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Dr. Frank Schröder-Oeynhausen (Lübeck Technology Center), Anna Lena Paape (Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH), Dario Arndt (Lübeck Economic Development Corporation), Till Böhme (MobOxGbR).
Photo: Representing his team: Winner Jerom Schult (front) with Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, Oke Heuer, Anna Lena Paape, Gabriele Gillessen-Kaesbach and Karen Cabos.
Text: Technical University – Johanna Helbing, Photo: Alexander Brühl
