For decades, the German Founder Award has been promoting entrepreneurial achievements and business ideas that are particularly capable of meeting the challenges of the future and sustainably changing entire industries. The award, which was established in 1997, is presented annually in the categories Student, StartUp, Newcomer and Lifetime Achievement. The jury has now once again selected founders whose business models challenge traditional methods. This year's winners include the bioeconomy start-up Traceless Materials. The Hamburg-based start-up around the two founders Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare was nominated as one of three finalists in the StartUp category for the German Founder Award (Deutschen Gründerpreis).

A dream comes true

An expert jury of 300 representatives from companies, technology centers, ministries, start-up initiatives and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe selected the finalists. "Traceless makes a dream come true: A biological waste product is processed in an environmentally friendly way and replaces a problem product," the jury's statement reads.

Biomaterial completely compostable

The start-up, which was only founded in 2020, has developed a new type of biomaterial that can be processed and used like plastic and is completely compostable in the environment. The raw material is agricultural residues that are biodegradable in a short time and are particularly suitable for packaging and disposable products. The company's mission: traceless wants to use the innovative biomaterial to fight global plastic pollution. Last year, the team received a million-euro grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC), enabling it to further expand production of the innovative biomaterial.