Swiss Technology Award goes to HeiQ
HeiQ Materials AG from Schlieren has won the Technology Award in the Innovation Leaders category. The company specializes in technologies for textiles and has developed a protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The three winners of the Swiss Technology Award have been announced. This year's winner in the Innovation Leaders category is the Schlieren-based company HeiQ Materials. The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) specialises in technologies for textiles. For example, it has developed a technology that protects textiles against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19.
HeiQ is working with a number of partner companies to treat, for example, face masks or protective clothing for doctors with the new virus protection. In a Communication on Facebook, HeiQ points out that the company already won the Swiss Technology Award in 2010. Winning again is an "honour and amazing recognition".
More ETH spin-offs win
In the start-up category, the winner was Hemotune an ETH spin-off was also chosen as the winner. The company is developing a medical device for blood purification that combines the latest scientific findings from biomedicine and nanotechnology. According to the company, the device is much more precise and efficient than previous methods. It will be used primarily to treat blood poisoning. Only in August, Hemotune was able to secure fresh capital in the amount of CHF 5.1 million in a financing round.
In the Inventors category Bloom Biorenewables a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Bloom is working on a technology that allows biomass to be used as an alternative for petroleum-based products in chemical manufacturing processes.
