Weniger als eine von zehn Gründer:innen von Startups in Zukunftstechnologien ist eine Frau

The inventors developed solar cells with the highest efficiency ever achieved. They also invented a method for increasing the concentration of light sent to solar cells.

P-OLEDs enable the manufacture of displays so thin they could be put onto a t-shirt.

Billions of lithium-ion based rechargeable batteries are produced every year to power our cell phones, laptops and MP3 players. Discarding them can add up to huge amounts of waste. French scientists Farouk Tedjar and Jean-Claude Foudraz developed a novel solution ─ which is fast, effective, inexpensive and uses less energy ─ to recycle these batteries and recover 98% of the valuable metals they contain.

German engineer Stefan Lehnert has pioneered the use of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene - a highly durable, light and adaptable plastic - in architecture. The roof and cladding system he invented, based on plastic cushions filled with air, is energy efficient and able to withstand high impact. It has been used all over the world in high-profile architectural projects, such as the Eden Project in England or the Beijing National Aquatics Centre in China.

Scientists at Rhein Biotech invented a method for making proteins in Hansenula yeast, which is used as a key component in the production of an affordable Hepatitis B vaccine. More than 450 million doses of the WHO-qualified vaccine have since been sold in over 90 countries to date, helping combat the spread of the disease.

Three researchers’ discovery of Erbium-doped fibre amplifiers enabled optical signals to be transmitted hundreds of miles without the need for electronic conversion. This has made long-distance optical communications more cost-effective and manageable, a major pre-requisite for the formation of the Internet as it is today.

Looking for a solution to a practical problem, Italian entrepreneur Mario Moretti Polegato set out to create the perfect breathable shoe which would let air in but keep water out. His invention, a waterproof, breathable sole for footgear, with a membrane of vapour-permeable and waterproof material, has revolutionised the footwear industry. And the company he founded in 1995, GEOX, is now one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the world.

Austrian inventor and entrepreneur Josef Theurer is a pioneer in the field of railway construction. He has more than 500 inventions to his name, and the company he established with a partner in 1953, Plasser & Theurer, is now the world market leader for railway track-maintenance machines. Among his countless inventions is an innovative track-borne machine for installing overhead lines, patented in 1988, which broke new ground and made railway construction considerably quicker and easier.

Surface plasmon resonance is a breakthrough in high-throughput protein interaction analysis. Aiding researchers in a host of fields, the technology is real time, non-invasive, and above all, accurate.