Winners of the LOPEC Start-up Awards 2025
The best presentations in each of the categories Best Business Case and Most Impactful Technology or Product were awarded with a full service stand package.
As part of the Start-up Competition at LOPEC 2025, selected founders presented their business ideas in ten-minute pitches at the LOPEC Forum. The aim of the Start-up Competition each year is to find partners and investors to support the realisation of the founders' plans and ideas. A Board of Experts of investors and companies reviews the submitted applications in the run-up to the trade show and puts together a selection which then present their business idea on site on February 26, 2025. The best presentations in each of the categories Best Business Case and Most Impactful Technology or Product were awarded with a full service stand package as a special honour.
Most Impactful Technology
Dr Qiaoshuang Zhang
CEO, co-founder Prio Optics GmbH, Germany
www.prio-optics.com
"Prio Optics uses a brand-new way to make optical filters. We have created first-of-a-kind inkjet-printed filters, and unlocks new features as USP. Prio Optics stands in the midstream of the supply chain, and offers optical filters as components for downstream end users, such as consumer electronics, displays, and hyperspectral cameras. Prio Optics' technology is highly sustainable, as validated by a sustainability report. The printing utilizes drop-on-demand technology, reducing material waste to near-zero. Moreover, the entire production process occurs under ambient conditions, significantly lowering energy consumption. The technology is sustainable both economically and ecologically."
Best Business Model
Dr Lorenzo Agostini
CEO Adaptronics, Italy
www.adaptronics.it
"Adaptronics’ core technology is the Electro Active Adhesive Layer (EAAL), a conformable thin-film device that becomes adhesive on command on any material thanks to an electrostatic principle of operation, integrating AI-driven feedback sensing to detect proximity and contact with the target object. This cutting-edge technology is applied across multiple industrial automation sectors, such as packaging handling, e-commerce, warehouse management, agriculture and many other. Moreover, electroadhesion is suitable for operation in space conditions, enabling space robotic applications such as in-orbit servicing, active debris removal, and exploration. Beyond its versatility, the EAAL offers significant sustainability benefits, reducing energy consumption by up to 1000 times compared to traditional pneumatic systems, supporting sustainable automation practices, and enabling recycling and satellite repair and refuelling in space."
Other finalists in 2025 were
Dr James Claypole
CEO and Founder AilArian Ltd, UK
www.ailarian.co.uk
Christian Weisse
CEO MCVE TECHNOLOGIE, France
www.mcve-tech.com
Dr Ömer Omar
CTO and Co-Founder Apoello, UK
www.diadem-project.eu, www.nanomatch.de
Caption: Dr Lorenzo Agostini of Adaptronics, the winner of Best Business Model, presents his companies roadmap at the award show (image: Messe München).
Source: LOPEC
www.lopec.com/en