Saving energy in plastics production: Polytives wins 2nd place in the Lothar Späth Award 2023

The roots of Polytives lie in Prof Schacher's working group, in which Oliver Eckardt carried out research on branched polymers as part of his dissertation. "The collaboration with the University of Jena was crucial for the development of our start-up," emphasises Eckardt, the current Managing Director of Polytives. "The university not only offered us the space for innovative research, but also provided extensive support through the K1 start-up service in the pre-foundation phase."

The aim of Polytives is to contribute to energy optimisation in plastics production through innovative solutions and to bridge the gap between basic research and industrial application. The company's first product is a so-called additive that can control the properties of plastics. The innovative approach of adding additives to plastics not only achieves energy savings in the manufacturing process, but also improves mechanical properties. The additive has been proven to be applicable in at least eleven different polymer systems, which indicates a wide range of possible applications.