Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, please contact us by email at info@innovationspreis.de

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WHAT CRITERIA DOES MY SUBMISSION HAVE TO MEET?

The innovation – product, procedure, process, organisation or service – must be connected in some way to Berlin or Brandenburg (implementation, exploitation or production). It must be at least at the experimental stage of development and have prospects for market success.

The jury evaluates not only:

  • the level of innovation, i.e. the degree of further development in relation to the current state of the art, but also
  • economic competitiveness and
  • whether the conditions in the company improve structurally to a significant extent, in the sense of being a model for other companies.

WHAT IS MEANT BY “LEVEL OF INNOVATION”?

The gap between an innovation and solutions up to now; this can relate to the scope of the product’s functions (especially the user functions), the type of technical implementation (product technologies used), the degree of functional fulfilment, appearance (design), new type of business model, etc.

Attention should be paid to the structure and to the operating principle of the innovation. It must be novel and stand out from common methods, for example by offering technical or economic benefits or special performance characteristics.

Existing rights of third parties, particularly industrial property rights, must not be infringed. A corresponding applicant’s self-declaration concerning this is required.

DOES THE INNOVATION HAVE TO INVOLVE TECHNICAL PRODUCTS?

No. Apart from innovative service concepts, i.e. process innovations, and those from the trade/crafts sector, non-technical innovations are also explicitly welcome. These are particularly innovations that drive digital transformation. Among others, the Innovation Award promotes further innovations that, for example, enable new work processes, or that allow production processes to be redesigned or that interlink previously separate parts of the value chain. Also, particularly sought after are innovations that contribute to greater flexibility in work for employees and/or companies, that further open up innovation processes (open innovation) and that have sustainable impact – economically, ecologically and socially.

However, the prerequisite for every innovation is that it is a real innovation and not an interpretation of already existing products or solutions.

WHICH TOPICS FROM THE CLUSTERS CAN BE AWARDED?

Innovations from the five clusters of the Joint Innovation Strategy of the States of Berlin and Brandenburg (innoBB 2025) can be awarded with prizes:

Healthcare industries, particularly:

  • medical biotechnology, bio-analytics & diagnostics, diagnostic imaging
  • development of active substances
  • regenerative medicine, minimally invasive medicine
  • industrial biotechnology
  • medical informatics & digital health
  • medical technology, orthopaedics and endoprosthetics
  • health promotion, prevention
  • outpatient care, inpatient care, rehabilitation
  • nursing care

Energy technology, particularly:

  • renewable energies
  • turbomachinery and power plant technology
  • energy grids and storage
  • energy efficiency 
  • hydrogen

ICT, media and creative industries, particularly:

  • artificial intelligence (AI)
  • platform economy
  • big data
  • 5G applications and infrastructure
  • Internet of Things
  • blockchain
  • extended reality (XR)
  • geoIT
  • information security and data privacy

Optics and photonics, particularly:

  • laser technology
    • laser material processing (welding, joining, surface structuring, 3D printing) 
    • laser components, systems and materials
    • metrological laser applications (LIDAR, LIBS, etc.)
  • lighting technology
    • intelligent lighting systems
    • light sources (LED, microLED, OLED, UV-LED, etc.)
    • special lighting applications (vertical farming/horticulture, visible light communication, etc.) 
    • light design
  • biophotonics and ophthalmic optics
    • optical technologies for medical, biotechnical or agricultural applications
    • ophthalmic optical materials, components and systems (glasses, contact lenses, smart/AR/VR glasses)
  • photonics and quantum technology for communication and sensor technology
    • components and systems for quantum sensor technology, communication and computing
    • photonic and electronic microsystems for communication and sensor technology (cameras, detectors, displays, etc.)
    • networked sensor technology
  • optical analysis
    • UV and x-ray analysis
    • spectroscopy and imaging
    • fibre-optic sensor technology
    • machine learning for optical analysis and imaging
    • THz technology
  • microelectronics and microsystems technology
    • MEMS/MOEMSo printed electronics
    • cyber-physical systems
    • smart wearables / smart textiles
    • functional materials

Transport, mobility and logistics, in particular:

  • transport and mobility management
  • automation and networks
  • digital production
  • vehicle and aircraft concepts
  • emerging technologies

If your application/innovation is a cooperation connecting industries and disciplines (e.g. app developments for the healthcare industry, artificial intelligence applications for mobility/logistics), it will be assigned to the “cross cluster” segment for evaluation by the jury.

CAN I REAPPLY WITH THE SAME PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

In theory, an innovation could be submitted again each year. This is particularly true if it was developed further in the meantime. In principle, the implementation, exploitation, production or marketing of the innovation must be not more than 36 months in the past (the starting point here is the start of the competition for the respective year, i.e. not before 15/04/2021 for 2024).

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS I CAN MAKE?

Each company, team or individual can submit up to three innovations per year for the Berlin Brandenburg Innovation Award. A separate application form must be filled out for each innovation.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Please use the online form. If applying online constitutes a barrier to your application, please contact the organisation office at info@innovationspreis.de or by telephone on 0331-243 62 60.

Applications must be submitted in German. If this constitutes a barrier to application, interested parties who do not speak German can contact the organisation office.

DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE AWARD CEREMONY OR WILL THE WINNERS OF THE INNOVATION AWARD BE ANNOUNCED IN ADVANCE?

The nominees will be announced at a press conference that will take place around a month before the awards ceremony. Which of these nominees will actually be among the winners will only be announced on the evening of the award ceremony as part of a festive event. After the press conference, the nominees will also be announced on this website.

The jury’s decision will not be disclosed before the press conference. Enquiries before will therefore go unanswered.

HOW MANY AWARD WINNERS WILL THERE BE?

The jury can select a maximum of five award winners, each of whom will receive EUR 15,000. However, this applies only insofar as the relevant funding regulations are not exceeded (“de minimis aid”). A de minimis declaration by the nominees must be submitted by the date of the award ceremony and cannot be adjusted afterwards. Further details can be found in the Conditions for Application.

CAN I APPLY EVEN IF MY BUSINESS IS NOT BASED IN BERLIN OR BRANDENBURG?

Yes, but if the innovation originated outside the region, exploitation in the Berlin- Brandenburg region must have begun already or preparation for it must be demonstrably in process.

ARE LARGE COMPANIES ALSO ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE INNOVATION AWARD?

Yes, the jury and the federal states made a conscious decision several years ago to include companies with an annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million or more than 250 employees in the selection.

IS AN APPLICATION FREE OF CHARGE?

Yes. No fees or similar are charged for submission.