Three outstanding university spin-offs from Berlin’s research landscape were honoured at the 14th Berliner Sparkasse Start-up Award by Science & Startups on the evening of 4 June 2026. First prize was awarded to Blueprint Biomed GmbH for its biomaterial implant technology designed to support bone fracture healing. Porelio received second prize for its high-performance adsorption technology for clean water applications, while Spree Monitoring GmbH was awarded third prize for its ultrasound-based monitoring solution for bridges and critical infrastructure. Blueprint Biomed also received the Audience Award. The total prize fund amounted to €15,000, comprising €12,000 for first place and €1,000 each for second place, third place, and the Audience Award.

The award ceremony took place before approximately 200 invited guests at the Berliner Sparkasse event venue on Lake Wannsee and also marked the opening of JUNI Future Week 2026. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner delivered the keynote address. The presidents of Berlin’s three Universities of Excellence — Prof. Günter M. Ziegler (Freie Universität Berlin), Prof. Julia von Blumenthal (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), and Prof. Fatma Deniz (Technische Universität Berlin) — joined other distinguished guests in presenting the awards.

Claudia Dirks, Science & Startups:

"An ecosystem thrives on role models, and awards set standards. They identify those who are driving a sector forward and motivate others to follow their example. Today’s winners are the role models of tomorrow because they provide an ecosystem with its compass. In our case, that also means pointing science towards possible new directions."

Kai Wegner, Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin:

"Berlin is Germany’s startup capital, with around 40,000 new business registrations and more than 600 startup companies founded each year. This strength is built on an excellent science and research landscape and a clear economic policy strategy. Alliances such as JUNI and Science & Startups, the joint entrepreneurship service of Berlin’s universities and Charité, create a Europe-leading environment for research-based innovation. The nominated and award-winning teams demonstrate just how diverse and forward-looking the ideas emerging from Berlin are. Our goal is clear: we want to make Berlin the number one innovation hub in Europe."

Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, Sprecher der Berlin University Alliance und Präsident der Freien Universität Berlin:

"We are proud of the award-winning founding teams – award-winning in the truest sense of the word: excellent and honoured with an award. The Start-up Award demonstrates the potential that lies within Berlin’s outstanding research landscape. At a time when support for science and innovation is under considerable pressure, the award-winning teams send an important signal: we support them. Research is not only about generating knowledge; it is also a driver of societal progress, economic competitiveness, and technological sovereignty. As Germany’s only Alliance of Excellence, we experience every day how crucial reliable framework conditions and strong partnerships are for successfully translating scientific ideas into innovation."

Award Winners

First Prize: Blueprint Biomed GmbH

Blueprint Biomed develops next-generation bone implants based on years of research conducted at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The technology is designed to activate the body’s natural healing mechanisms and could eventually replace high-risk bone graft procedures with limited success rates.

Second Prize: Porelio

Porelio commercialises a proprietary process for the continuous large-scale synthesis of functionalised mesoporous silica materials (FOMS). These materials have applications in the pharmaceutical industry, heterogeneous catalysis, and the recovery of precious metals from electronic waste.

Third Prize: Spree Monitoring GmbH

Working in collaboration with the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Spree Monitoring has brought to market a technology capable of detecting damage within concrete bridge structures before it becomes visible on the surface. At a time when ageing infrastructure poses growing challenges across Germany, the startup addresses an increasingly urgent societal need.

Audience Award: Blueprint Biomed GmbH

About the Berliner Sparkasse Start-up Award

The Berliner Sparkasse Start-up Award has been presented jointly by Berliner Sparkasse and Science & Startups since 2013 and was awarded for the 14th time in 2026. Eligible nominees are startups founded in the previous year and recommended by Science & Startups’ entrepreneurship advisors. Winners are selected by an expert jury, while the Audience Award is determined through a live vote by attendees. The 2026 jury consisted of Dr Christian Segal (Berliner Sparkasse), Eve Büchner (Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg and founder of quantumr), Madlen Dietrich (Werner-von-Siemens Centre), Marcia Schranner (Berlin Partner), and Niklas Laasch (Entrepreneur).

In addition to the winners, the finalists included platoniq, Molecular Garden, Blindleister, and Elu Mobility.

About Science & Startups

Science & Startups is the joint entrepreneurship platform of the Berlin University Alliance partners — Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin — working in close cooperation with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The initiative supports the translation of outstanding research into innovative startups whose products and services are scalable, sustainable, and socially relevant. Founders benefit from the combined infrastructure of Berlin’s Universities of Excellence, including state-of-the-art laboratories, workshops, specialised research facilities, flexible workspaces, and a broad range of support services. Through the close collaboration of the alliance partners’ startup support teams, Science & Startups has created a unique ecosystem that combines scientific excellence, entrepreneurial talent, and innovation capacity to enable high-impact ventures.

About the Berlin University Alliance

Berlin University Alliance – a consortium of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – positions Berlin as one of the world’s leading knowledge- and innovation hubs, where collaboration across disciplines and sectors is deeply integrated. Together, this ecosystem contributes to advancing major global transformations. Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and the State of Berlin under the German Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments.

Further Information

• About Science & Startups
• About the Berlin University Alliance's startup ecosystem

Press Contacts

• Berlin University Alliance: Suhana Reddy, Head of Communication, Email: suhana.reddy@berlin-university-alliance.de
• Science & Startups: Ronja Kolls, Email: ronja.kolls@science-startups.berlin