The presentation of the “Munich Impact Award” took place at the final of the social entrepreneurship competition Generation-D. In addition to prize money of €2,000, the special award includes a one-year membership in the makerspace. The high-tech workshop in the Munich Urban Colab will support Hopfon with a twelve-month access to the makerspace and its courses that promote the development of market-ready prototypes.
The award was presented by the Councillor for Work and Economic Development, Clemens Baumgärtner:
“We need visionaries who are awake to the changes of our time and act with foresight to help shape Munich’s economy for the future. Hopfon impressed us with an innovative product solution that is excellently suited to make the construction industry and, at the same time, agriculture in a selected segment more resource-efficient.”
Munich Impact Award recognizes sustainable solution for the construction industry
The startup has developed a solution for sustainable and compostable building materials made from hop waste. Co-founder Mauricio Fleischer Acuña comments on the award:
“We were astonished and delighted! It is a great honor for us to be the first startup ever to receive this special award. We will continue to do everything we can to develop circular and sustainable solutions for the construction industry and agriculture.”
The founding team aims to develop circular building and acoustic panels as well as insulation material from hop harvest residues. This type of building material represents an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional building materials. In addition to regionality, the startup’s focus includes topics such as circular economy and exploration of alternative manufacturing processes.
Hopfon’s goal is a product that can be disassembled back into its components at the end of its lifecycle, making circular reuse possible. With this approach, the founding team aims to make both the construction industry and agriculture more sustainable. With this idea, the startup won both the main prize at this year’s Generation-D competition and already won the TUM Idea Award in 2022.
