German Innovation Prize 2025: pioneering developments honoured

Innovation is created where people have the courage to rethink existing concepts. This is precisely the courage that the companies ENTEC-STRACON and Additive Drives have shown – and for which they have been honoured with the German Innovation Award 2025 ('Deutscher Innovationspreis'). We congratulate our customers on this success!

As innovation consultants, we have been supporting ENTEC-STRACON in various development projects for many years. We also advise Additive Drives on research projects – and the young company is part of the innovation network FREEM, which we manage and which focuses on innovative manufacturing processes for electric motors. We are proud to be able to support these visionary companies on their journey.

Cost-effective manufacturing process: ENTEC-STRACON produces turbocharger wheels for BMW using the pressure casting process.
(Image: ENTEC-STRACON)

A revolution in lightweight construction: car wheels from ENTEC-STRACON

ENTEC-STRACON has been awarded the German Innovation Prize 2025 in the medium-sized business category. Using a patented casting technology, the Swabian company produces car wheels made of aluminium in the shortest possible time and with an astonishingly economical use of resources. Currently, car wheels are produced in elaborate processes such as low-pressure die casting (LPDC). The material is removed from the mould and then hardened in the oven for another ten hours to achieve the necessary strength. However, the team at ENTEC-STRACON GMBH, led by managing director and engineer Ralf Bux, wanted to know if there was a faster, easier and more efficient way to do it. During his career, Ralf Bux has developed more than 1,000 wheels for all leading car brands. Prof Dr Dr Friedrich Klein, an expert in foundry technology at Aage GmbH and former dean at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, was also considering similar ideas. Together, they developed the new manufacturing process. Turbu pressure casting (TPC) is not a spelling mistake, but the term stands for low-turbulence, pressurised casting.

This innovative technology produces high-precision aluminium wheels in just 0.05 seconds per wheel. They are up to 25 per cent lighter, save 50 per cent energy in production and significantly reduce manufacturing costs. After years of development work and 55,000 hours of invested labour, the innovative manufacturing process is ready for use. The aim of the process development is to enable all wheel manufacturers to produce the modern wheels of tomorrow. The first of these revolutionary wheels will soon be on the road in collaboration with automotive manufacturer and development partner BMW.

Compact and powerful: the Additive Drives team develops electric motors using 3D printing.
(Photo: Additive Drives)

Electric motors from the 3D printer: Additive Drives

Another customer of EurA AG, Additive Drives, has received the German Innovation Award 2025 in the start-up category. The Dresden-based company, founded in 2020, has taken on the challenge of making the development of electric motors faster, more efficient and more flexible. It relies on 3D printing to produce customised high-performance engines in record time. Instead of months of development processes, Additive Drives needs only a few weeks to produce prototypes and customised engines or even small series.

This approach not only saves time, but also enables completely new designs that would be unthinkable using conventional manufacturing methods. Additive Drives' engines are more compact, more powerful and highly efficient. They deliver up to 45 per cent more power in the same volume as conventional engines. Most impressively, the company is already working with leading automotive and aerospace companies to bring this technology to market. The start-up, a spin-off from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, began with a team of four specialists. Thanks to more than 200 customer projects, combined with numerous funded innovation projects, Additive Drives has grown to 70 employees since its foundation and has shown profitable growth since its first year of business.

An award for courageous visionaries

With their groundbreaking innovations, ENTEC-STRACON and Additive Drives show that progress is driven by visionaries who dare to take risks. The German Innovation Award, presented by WirtschaftsWoche in collaboration with Accenture and O2 Telefónica, honours precisely this pioneering spirit. The awards underscore the importance of questioning existing processes and re-exploring technological boundaries. They prove that with determination, persistence and an innovative spirit, great challenges can be overcome – and industrial processes revolutionised.

We are delighted to be a partner to these innovative companies and to be setting new standards together with them. Do you also have a research project and need support? Then get in touch with us! We are here for you in areas such as mobility and many others.

Text: Birgit Miriam Hering