Saving energy in plastics production

Polytives GmbH, a plastics technology company spun off from the University of Jena in 2020, was awarded second place in the prestigious Lothar Späth Award on 16 November. The prize honours cooperation partnerships between companies and research institutions and is endowed with a total of 100,000 euros - the Jena team receives 30,000 euros. The award recognises the cooperation partnership between the working group of Prof Dr Felix Schacher from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Jena and the co-founders of Polytives, Oliver Eckardt and Viktoria Rothleitner. The award recognises both the practical research results that lead to practical applications and, indirectly, the university's support services for start-ups.

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.