Alumni

The Reutlingen-based company LuxFlux GmbH and the Konstanz-based vaireco GmbH were the first start-ups at ESA BIC’s Reutlingen and Friedrichshafen locations in Baden-Württemberg. No less than a month passed between submission on the reporting date and signing the contract for admission at an ESA BIC location for both inaugurations.

The two LuxFlux Founder Marc Henzler and Dr. Jan Makowski (from left to right), analyse the particulate matter in our cities from space. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring System (CAMS) combined with ESA’s Sentinel satellites is used for this purpose. The aim is that the particulate matter exposure can be determined not only at the measuring points on the ground, but at any location. “For Baden-Württemberg in particular, our fine dust map will provide added value. This is the only way to achieve comprehensive coverage”, said Dr. Jan Makowski and Marc Henzler, LuxFlux company founders.

Dr. Wolfgang Herbst, co-founder of vaireco, briefly presented his company project at the ESA BIC Auftakt. Heat losses in large buildings or faults in photovoltaic systems will be recorded much more efficiently in the future. Supported by Airbus Defence and Space from ESA BIC in Friedrichshafen / Immenstaad will develop the start-up vaireco an innovative inspection system for this purpose. The company relies on a new generation of thermal imaging cameras and drone technology as well as pinpoint localization via satellite navigation. “In addition to a significant reduction in the inspection effort, this also enables large-scale analyses that were previously unthinkable”, says company founder Dr. Wolfgang Herbst. Source: Niethammer

Angela Warnecke, co-founder of ARtist UG (limited liability), was selected to join the ESA BIC at the second tender evaluation board on 14 June 2018. At the Reutlingen location, the three founders of the newly developed company are now developing a smart tool for creating virtual art. Artists can now digitally create Augmented Reality (AR) works of art and place them in public space. The artworks can be discovered and expanded by the community. Source: Weber

At the tender evaluation board on 24 May 2019, the start-up PriLogiX GmbH was admitted to the ESA BIC in Reutlingen. The young company has set itself the task of simplifying the logistics for heavy goods transport. By means of their own software and integrated satellite images, it will be easier for logistics companies to deliver the goods undamaged and in the easiest way to the customer in the future.

At the tender evaluation board on 12 November 2019, the start-up yuri GmbH was admitted to the ESA BIC in Reutlingen. Christian Bruderrek’s team offers a service for upcoming space missions where microgravity is a complicated factor. The yuri solution makes it easier for companies to plan and execute their space missions more cost-effectively, faster and more efficiently.

The start-upTroodle Mobility Solution GmbH of founder Bernd Sailer has been admitted to the second Tender Evaluation Board at the Reutlingen location. "Low cost ride sharing in real time!“ is the declared goal of the founder, who wants to establish a reliable and ecological mobility solution together with local authorities. Source: Weber

The start-up VCSwipe UG (limited liability) was accepted at the third tender evaluation board on November 8, 2018. VC stands for Venture Capital and already hints at what the two founders Lukas Kmoth and Adrian Pirija are up to. Its mobile financing platform aims to simplify collaboration between investors and startups. They finished their incubation time at the end of 2020.

The start-up Alb Radmanufaktur GmbH has been part of ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg since the end of January 2020. The team around Caroline and Ulrich Füllemann develops a trike that is ergonomic and tilts with the body in the corners and adapts to it. In addition, it has an electric drive and is therefore addressed to all age groups. The use of GNSS offers various additional functions – it serves as safety and theft protection, as an emergency and motivation system and as an energy optimizer for the electric drive to support the cyclist.

The Reutlingen-based start-up Xylene was in the ESA BIC from December 2019 until December 2021. The founders Christopher Edwards and Giuseppe Benenati offer a blockchain solution for companies who obtain their product in critical markets that transparently represents the entire value creation process from logging to processing. The solution is particularly effective for industrial sectors that are potentially in contact with conflict minerals. Xylene’s service makes the fair and sustainable use of materials visible. During the incubation time, they develeoped an MVP for their SaaS.

The start-up Heliopas.ai was selected for Incubation on March 18, 2020. Ingmar Wolff’s team analyses the soil moisture of agricultural land using Sentinel 1 and 2 satellite data. Their high-precision analysis reaches up to a resolution of 10m. This enables them to make predictions about the state of the arable land and the plants growing on it, and what measures need to be taken. After 1 1/2 years, they have now successfully completed the program.

The Stuttgart-based startup Asvin GmbH has been part of the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg for 2 years and is alumni now since 25th May 2022. The founders support IoT operators in recording and controlling devices, providing a solution for managing updates and monitoring the cybersecurity status over the entire lifecycle of devices. Confidential Company knowledge can thus be protected against cyber-attacks.

The start-up Blackpin GmbH has been Incubatee at the ESA BIC location in Reutlingen between May 2020 and May 2022. The Aalen-based company is developing an encrypted messenger app with integrated location function, which allows information to be sent in a data-protected manner. The app is primarily intended for the business sector, where the encrypted transmission of information is essential.

The start-up Vioonic from Reutlingen was admitted to the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg in Reutlingen on 18 March 2020. The young entrepreneur Barry Fogarty is developing an encrypted real-time communication service for the exchange of confidential information, especially in the medical field. The application is also equipped with a location capability, so that it can be tracked when and where the user received and viewed the information

In the selection round on November 12, 2019, the Suttgarter start-up SwarmLogistics GmbH was admitted to the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg. The company offers logistics companies a technical solution to avoid empty journeys and to make optimal use of the loading area of the trucks. Using algorithms, they connect the vehicle fleets of a company with each other and thus achieve the optimum utilization of their capacities for their customers.

The startup ConstellR has been part of ESA BIC at the site in Friedrichshafen, Baden-Württemberg. The company visualizes high-resolution temperature data based on existing satellite images and computer simulations. Remote sensing data in thermal infrared (TIR) makes an important contribution to agricultural information management. The estimation of evapotranspiration, which is possible by TIR observations, describes the loss of water to the atmosphere. It is composed of evaporation, which indicates the moisture content of the upper soil layers, and the transpiration of plants, which is closely related to the water content in the deeper root layer.

The startup Waldstolz was part of the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg between July 2021 and September 2022. The two founders Fabian Gärtner and Tobias Jäger were developing a platform to protect local forests from pests. Using satellite data, predictions are made for agriculture as to which trees in the forest are infested and therefore need to be cut down.

The startup boltzplatz was part of the ESA BIC between November 2021 and November 2022. The team offers an innovative service based on computer-aided simulations for SMEs and development and simulation departments of large companies. The service includes the handling of projects starting with the problem definition up to the presentation of concrete recommendations for action. Therefore, they are working with the open-source software PICLas which was developed by them at the University of Stuttgart, with which rarefied plasma flows under the influence of electromagnetic fields can be simulated on the computer. With this solution, many production processes in high-tech industries, especially the thin-film technology and semiconductor manufacturing can be simulated before testing.

The start-up AridGreen Technologies of founder Dr. Avdesh Chaudhary uses artificial light conditions originally developed for space to create optimal conditions for plant growth. Due to special light wavelengths, the plants can also grow in the dark. An AI-based algorithm also shows the user what needs the plant has, e.g. the supply of fertilizer light or irrigation.

The startup medicalvalues from Karlsruhe was part of the ESA BIC in Reutlingen until May 2023. During their incubation time the founders were working on their AI-software for medical diagnosis. The software tool gives doctors the possibility to get support in making diagnosis for patients which includes weather data and habitat conditions by introducing and analysing satellite data.

The startup Sentrisense GmbH around founder Sebastian Cerone was part of the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg at the Reutlingen site until May 2023. The startup developed a small smart device that can be attached to power lines with an eyelet to measure their effectiveness and condition as well as to locate possible damage caused by storms or fires. Sensors for gas measurement are integrated as well.