Super Surf winner German-Dutch Prize for Economy 2019
Super Surf, a ROCKET project, has won the German-Dutch prize for Economy 2019. This cross-border project, which allows the mass production of hydrogen fuel cells, has left 35 other candidates behind for the prize. The award was presented this year for the twelfth time by the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce (DNHK).
“The mobility of the future is another interesting solution,” said DNHK director Günter Gülker about the winning concept. “Super Surf is a perfect example of what our two countries can do if the forces are combined.” Fuel cells are one of the most important technologies for making passenger and freight traffic emission-free, the jury concludes. The problem so far was that the cells could not be produced in large quantities. There was no reliable quality control for the highly sensitive components.
Start-up for production buses on hydrogen
The six German and Dutch companies that support Super Surf have together found a solution to this problem. With the help of two project partners, they now operate optical 2D and 3D measurement systems, with which fuel cell manufacturers can guarantee consistent quality. But that’s not all. “The project is currently creating a German-Dutch start-up that will make buses on fuel cells for public transport,” says Susanne Schreier from ADREM GmbH project leader. “We are extremely happy that our collaboration has now also been awarded the German-Dutch Prize for the Economy. This will give us more recognition in both countries. ”
Super Surf consists of Demcon (Focal) BV (Enschede), Hymove BV (Arnhem), NanoFocus AG (Oberhausen, D), Nedstack BV (Arnhem), ZBT – Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik (Duisburg, D) and project manager ADREM GmbH (Oldenburg, D) and is one of a total of eleven innovation projects within the INTERREG VA project “ROCKET”, which promotes cross-border cooperation in the German-Dutch border area in the field of key technologies.
ROCKET
The project is part of the larger cross-border innovation program ROCKET (Regional Collaborations on Key Enabling Technologies). Within this program, Dutch-German cooperation encourages developments in so-called key technologies such as nanotechnology and photonics, to find solutions to the major societal challenges of our time. Eleven innovation projects (including SuperSurf) and six feasibility studies were carried out within ROCKET.
The program is implemented under the coordination of Eastern NL and in collaboration with the partners BCSemi NL, Novel-T, Innos Sperlich and NMWP.NRW. This project is financially supported by the European Union, the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland, MB Niedersachsen, and MWIDE NRW as part of the INTERREG program Deutschland-Nederland.
As a follow-up to ROCKET, ROCKET Reloaded has started. New ideas for innovation projects can be submitted until November 15, 2019, after which a selection procedure takes place.
For more information, visit www.rocket-innovations.eu.