A new system for identifying and documenting animals in the agricultural sector and innovative software solutions for evaluating investments in renewable energies: two very different business ideas developed at Leibniz University Hannover have been approved in the current call for proposals for the EXIST start-up grant. A young team from the Hannover Centre for Mechatronics (MZH) intends to set up the company corvitac. The Nefino GmbH is led by doctoral candidates from the Institute of Computer Science for Business Administration and will offer solutions for the financing of renewable energies. Through the EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the European Social Fund (ESF), the young researchers from LUH get a generous allowance to start their businesses. For one year, each researcher will receive up to 3,000 euros per month to cover living expenses; each team will be provided with up to 30,000 euros for material expenses.
Both start-ups will be supported by starting business, the joint start-up service of Leibniz University Hannover and the hannoverimpuls GmbH. Starting business supports students and research staff of all faculties with regard to transforming innovative ideas into sustainable business concepts. The EXIST start-up grant provides funding for innovative start-ups in the field of technology, as well as for knowledge-based service providers.
The corvitac founders Manuel Sprehe, Timo Kaiser, and Yiyun Luo from the Hannover Centre for Mechatronics at LUH (a consortium of various institutes from the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and information technology, and computer science) developed a camera system for state-of-the-art livestock farming. Their vision is to automate livestock farming for the benefit of farmers and animals, as well as for environment and society. The researchers aim to facilitate the work of livestock farmers by automating error-prone and strenuous work in the barn, and by minimising documentation tasks. All data will be analysed by corvitac. Like this, the farmer is only required to confirm these data when compiling official reports or when generating documents automatically. The corvitac team was formed at Leibniz University Hannover in the context of the "Student Accelerator Robotics and Automation" and has since been supported by the Hannover Centre for Mechatronics (MZH). "With our system, pig farmers can focus on animal welfare and their actual work", announces founder Manuel Sprehe.
The other project receiving an EXIST start-up grant brings together methods from meteorology and business administration by combining site-specific analyses of wind and solar resources with innovative financial modelling for renewable energies. André Koukal, Chris Stetter, and Jan-Hendrik Piel founded the Nefina GmbH. They are doctoral candidates and former research staff of the Institute of Computer Science for Business Administration at LUH. For many years, the founders have been focusing on issues and challenges relating to the financing of renewable energies. They are now striving to put their research results into practice. The Nefino GmbH will develop and distribute software solutions for companies in the renewable energy sector and assist them in overcoming new and complex challenges in the changing market environment. The versatile software solutions can be used for data-driven decision-making. Based on the software, Nefino will also offer customised consulting services. "We want to provide solutions for an ''energy transition 2.0'' that are both ecologically and economically intelligent", explains founder Jan-Hendrik Piel.
Note to editors:
For further information, please contact Tobias Quebe, project manager at starting business (Tel. +49 511 762 17420, Email tobias.quebe@zuv.uni-hannover.de ). For further information on corvitac (www.corvitac.de), please contact Manuel Sprehe; for information on Nefino (www.nefino.de), please contact Jan-Hendrik Piel at jan-hendrik.piel@nefino.de.
