Market Launches

The following examples give you a first impression of our technologies and their sucessful market launches by our partners.

Our spin-offs also bring our know-how and technologies to the market. You can find the current UFZ spin-off initiative and the companies founded here.

V-EcoTech-Filter: Ecotechnological Vertical Filter

Groundwater remediation plant of ÖPG Leuna © André Künzelmann, UFZ Groundwater remediation plant of ÖPG Leuna © André Künzelmann, UFZ The V-EcoTech filter is a semi-natural soil filter system developed for groundwater remediation that consists of one or more vertical coarse filters and a downstream vertical fine filter. The filter system removes a broad range of hydrocarbons from polluted aquifers in a cost-effective and effiicient way.

In 2018, the technology was also awarded the “Deutscher Umweltpreis” (the most valuable environmental award in Europe).

The V-EcoTech filter has been successfully established on the market with Bauer Umwelt GmbH (in German) since 2013.

 

Carbo-Iron® – A Material that Purifies Water

Carbo-Iron © Andre Künzelmann, UFZ Carbo-Iron © André Künzelmann, UFZ With the composite material Carbo-Iron® developed by the UFZ, organic pollutants in contaminated soils and aquifers can be degraded in an environmentally friendly way. The in-situ reagent is injected into the groundwater, collecting pollutants and converting them into harmless compounds through chemical reduction.

Our licensing partner Intrapore has been exclusively distributing Carbo-Iron® on the remediation market since 2017.

On-Site Sampling with Solid Phase Extraktion (LVSPE)

LVSPE1000 © Andre Künzelmann, UFZ LVSPE1000 © André Künzelmann, UFZ This mobile pesticide sampler enables simplified, event-based sampling of water bodies and improved assessment of the impact of extreme rainfall events on water quality. Particularly innovative is that different sample types (unfiltered water samples, filtered water samples and suspended solids) can be obtained with the same automatic sampler. The unfiltered sample is directly cooled for preservation. The filtered sample is then extracted on site using large volume solid phase extraction. The solid phase consists of a polymer that absorbs the substances dissolved in the water like a sponge.

The jointly developed device was brought to market in 2017 by our long-standing partner MAXX Mess und Probenahmetechnik GmbH (in German & English), a specialist in automatic samplers and measurement technology.

Process for Measuring Soil Moisture

Messgerät zur Bestimmung der Bodenfeuchte © Andre Künzelmann, UFZ Device for measuring soil moisture © André Künzelmann, UFZ As part of a cooperation with the University of Arizona, the University of Heidelberg and the US company Quaesta Instruments Inc., a technology was developed for measuring the water content near the surface of the soil, which helps to understand hydrological processes. The technology can be used in agriculture to improve irrigation systems, in construction to assess the water content of soils, and in avalanche detections systems for snow measurement. Quaesta Instruments Inc. launched the first devices with this technology in 2020.