The Incubator for
sustainable materials
Turn your idea into a marketable innovation for sustainable materials!
Are you a scientist with a ground-breaking idea in the field of sustainable materials? The Materials Lab Incubator offers you the right environment: resources, funding and expertise to turn your vision into reality.
Join us and develop solutions that transform entire industries!
Our Mission
You are at the heart of our Incubator programme, which has been specially developed for talented scientists. We want to offer you the best possible starting conditions to turn your innovative research into a disruptive start-up. Through targeted support, access to resources and a strong network, we will help you turn your visionary ideas into reality and actively shape the future of the region.
Our support on your journey
200.000 €
non-dilutive Funding
Funding of €200,000 in non-dilutive capital provides critical support you who want to make the transition to entrepreneurship. This non-dilutive funding allows you to retain their shares in the future company, giving you greater control over the development of your idea.
By combining scientific expertise and entrepreneurial know-how, the incubator programme can help to develop innovative solutions that ultimately benefit society.
fully equipped
S1-Lab
The laboratory for the transition of your proof of concept to a minimal viable product (MVP) plays a crucial role. Here we help creative ideas to develop from initial concepts into viable prototypes. Through targeted development steps - from molecular biology over fermentation to downstream processing - and comprehensive testing, we ensure that innovative solutions for renewable materials find their way onto the market.
Our interdisciplinary team offers both technical expertise and business consulting to maximise the feasibility and market value of your products.
Business
Guidance
Our 1:1 mentoring, coaching and consulting offers customised support to get from idea to product-market fit. Through personalised advice, we help you to refine your visionary concept, develop business models and understand the needs of the market. In our incubator, you benefit from hands-on workshops and personalised feedback to create sustainable solutions that are both economically and ecologically viable.
Use our expertise to turn your ideas into marketable products and achieve a positive impact on the environment.
Innovation boost through VC support!
The Incubator is VC-driven and aims to develop innovative products in the field of renewable materials. Rather than operating in an ivory tower environment, the Incubator focuses on working closely with the market to ensure that the solutions developed meet the real needs and challenges of the industry.
This hands-on approach not only ensures the relevance of the products, but also creates the opportunity to receive valuable feedback from potential users. This not only promotes innovation, but also contributes to sustainability and responsibility in the use of resources.
This is why your idea will be put through its paces right after 6 months in an investor pitch.
Located in the Heart of Europe
Become a bioeconomist! In the heart of Europe, in the Rhenish mining area of North Rhine-Westphalia, we are experiencing an exciting structural change towards a sustainable bioeconomy. Our region not only offers an excellently developed infrastructure, but also a strong network of innovators who are committed to renewable materials. Through the process of biological transformation, we gain new resources from renewable raw materials and thus promote an environmentally friendly economy. In our incubator, we pool knowledge and creative ideas to master the challenges of change and shape the future of the bioeconomy together. Join us and actively shape the ecological and social changes in our region!
The Incubator is located directly at RWTH Aachen University and offers strong access to knowledge. Through close cooperation with the university, start-ups and projects benefit from the latest research results and innovations. This enables the effective development of sustainable solutions and promotes the implementation of sustainable materials in various industries. This creates a dynamic environment that transforms creative ideas into environmentally friendly products.
The incubator is divided into two phases: The Spark Fund focuses on the problem-solution fit, while the Warp Speed Fund addresses the product-market fit.
In the first phase, the Spark Fund, intensive work is carried out to identify the needs and problems of the target groups and to develop customised solutions. These insights are fundamental to finding approaches that are ecologically responsible and meet the growing demands of the market.
In the second phase, the Warp Speed Fund, the focus is on validating the product on the market. This involves testing the developed solutions, collecting feedback from real users and making decisions based on this data to ensure market acceptance.
Cohort 1 starts in July 2025! The application will open on 15 March. Until then, you are welcome to email us if you have any questions or would like to receive more information about our incubator programme for sustainable materials. We look forward to your ideas and projects!
Contact
Phone: +49 241 80-20679.
E-mail: maximilian.ruschmeier@materials-lab-incubator.com
Address: Worringerweg 3, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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