Scaling Deep Tech
Deep-tech innovations are increasingly shaping the future of industrial value creation. Start-ups in this field develop new technologies and transform entire industries by translating scientific breakthroughs into market-ready applications. Their contribution becomes particularly relevant when solutions prove themselves not only in the laboratory but also under real industrial conditions.
THE SPARK 2026 focuses on innovation that has proven itself under real industrial conditions. What matters is the idea itself combined with its robust implementation in the market, in operational processes, and across complex value chains.
The award recognizes companies that combine digital technologies, such as AI, with physical innovations. The goal is to measurably strengthen the economic performance, technological capability, and structural resilience of the DACH region.
Emphasis is placed on strategic technology fields such as:
- Advanced computing and quantum technologies
- Critical infrastructure and technological sovereignty
- Health infrastructure and bio-innovation
- Industrial AI and robotics
- Resilient energy and raw material systems
THE SPARK seeks out start-ups that shape the transition into the scaling phase through resilient partnerships with industry, investors, research institutions, and public stakeholders, sustainably anchoring their innovations in markets and ecosystems.
The Winners 2025
1st Place
Black Semiconductor pushes the boundaries of chip communication: instead of electrons, light pulses race through tiny conductor tracks, transmitting data many times faster and more electricity-saving. This makes data centers more energy-efficient and, for example, AI models faster than before. Black Semiconductor’s optical chip network takes the performance of entire systems to a new level. The pilot factory in Aachen shows that cutting-edge technology can still be “Made in Germany.”
2nd Place
CUTISS manufactures living, patient-specific skin in the laboratory. With its proprietary tissue therapy, the company supplies automatically cultivated skin tissue that adapts and grows like the patient’s own. The procedure has demonstrated long-term safety and efficacy in burns, reconstructive surgery, and cosmetic procedures. This opens up new prospects for patients in terms of faster healing and lasting results.
3rd Place
NEURA Robotics develops cognitive robots that can see, hear, feel, and act independently. All core technologies are developed in-house—for maximum precision, safety, and interaction with humans. The “Neuraverse” robotics ecosystem functions like a smartphone with arms: scalable, networked, and open to partner solutions. With MiPA, the world’s first cognitive household and service robot, and the humanoid 4NE1, NEURA aims to usher in the age of robotics for everyone.
The Finalist
Finalist 2025
eleQtron develops and operates quantum computers “Made in Germany.” The company sells ready-to-use systems, offers cloud-based access to computing power on quantum computers, and advises customers on specific use cases. Its clients include the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of the world’s most powerful supercomputing centers. This brings eleQtron closer to its goal of making quantum power understandable, tangible, and economically viable.
Finalist 2025
Using mycelium, the nutrient-rich root network of fungi, Infinite Roots cultivates as much protein as 25 cattle in just three days – using 90 percent less land, water, and CO₂. AI-controlled microfermentation transforms unused by-products and waste products from agriculture and the brewing industry into vegan foods without artificial additives. The company also uses existing industrial space instead of new buildings, thereby reducing its own carbon footprint.
Finalist 2025
KIPU Quantum operates at the interface between complex quantum hardware and application software. With its patented, hardware- and application-specific quantum algorithms, the company is already solving certain standard calculations up to 10,000 times faster than with conventional hardware. For complex tasks such as simulations or machine learning, KIPU delivers up to 74 percent more accurate results for companies in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and financial sectors—and 80 times faster than previous methods.
Finalist 2025
ARX Robotics transforms classic military vehicles into networked high-tech systems, thereby expanding the capabilities of land forces. To this end, the company combines software-supported hardware and a modular platform structure to integrate retrofitted sensor systems into existing vehicle fleets and turn them into networked units. The solutions are already in use in several European armies and are also being deployed in Ukraine.
Finalist 2025
Cancer patients should not have to wait months to find out whether a treatment is working.NVision’s POLARIS quantum platform—an add-on device for standard MRI scanners—enables scalable, non-invasive real-time imaging of cell metabolism for the first time. Based on this metabolic data, the response to treatment can potentially be determined within a few days. The first systems have already been installed in North America and Europe.
Finalist 2025
With its approach of using electrically neutral atoms as the basis for quantum computing, planQC aims to bring quantum technology into everyday industrial use more quickly. Unlike most of its competitors, the company works with uncharged atoms. These do not require extreme sub-zero temperatures for use in quantum computing, but can be captured and controlled with lasers using minimal cooling. In addition to its hardware, planQC offers quantum computing as a service and consulting services.
Finalist 2025
Reverion compresses the technology of small power plants for biogas and hydrogen to the size of a standard container. The plants not only generate electricity, they also store it. The patented technology responds quickly to load changes and stores excess electricity in the form of green hydrogen or methane. Both gases can be quickly converted back into electricity with a round-trip efficiency of 75 percent. Reverion is thus laying the foundation for a climate-neutral, decentralized, and highly dynamic energy supply.
Contact
If you have any questions about The Spark Award 2025, please feel free to contact us.
Leonie
Gorlt
Manager Concept & Development Awards
