Transfer
UniSysCat is not a pure research network - we place great emphasis on knowledge and technology transfer between its research institutions and all sectors of society. We make an active contribution to ensuring that scientific knowledge gained in UniSysCat can be further developed and used in the interest of society - and our planet!
This transfer is based on two approaches:
On the one hand, UniSysCat aims to actively move ideas from science to application based on founding. To do so, UniSysCat is strengthening its transfer activities in the Berlin area with a focus on promoting chemical start-ups. With the large market of graduates from the three Berlin universities and the University of Potsdam, the area already has a well-established scene of founders, with about 70% of all German chemistry start-ups located in Berlin. In this context, UniSysCat was able to establish two centers for talent development: the INKULAB and the Chemical Invention Factory (see below).
On the other hand, long-term cooperations with partners from industry are to be established and to be continued. An example of a successful collaboration with an industrial partner is that with BASF SE, which led to the establishment of the BasCat joint laboratory (see below). Other industrial cooperations will be continued, for instance with Bayer and DexLeChem, which is a spin-out of UniSysCat's predecessor project UniCat.
Promotion of start-ups and founding of new companies
Chemical Invention Factory
The Chemical Invention Factory (CIF, John Warner Center for start-ups in Green Chemistry) brings together visionary scientists and empowers them to evolve chemical inventions. It's a technological greenhouse to boost visionary scientists devoted to inventions in the fields of Green Chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology. The CIF campus will be an open space where students can pursue their own projects with the aid of an excellent research infrastructure: state of the art laboratories, scientific mentors and a community of likeminded entrepreneurs.
The CIF is unique as it is the first incubation center for chemistry in Germany. With its focus on Green Chemistry, the CIF stands out in the established chemical industry. The sustainable approaches of Green Chemistry shall be transformed into business success.
INKULAB
INKULAB is a project to support young entrepreneurs in chemistry. It closes a gap in technology transfer between university research and the development of marketable products at a very early stage of company founding. The heart of INKULAB is a laboratory container at the Charlottenburg campus equipped for chemical experiments and connected to the Institute of Chemistry and the Centre for Entrepreneurship (CfE) of the TU Berlin. Here, start-ups in the pre-foundation phase and technology transfer teams can pursue their own projects. In addition to laboratory space, the INKULAB also offers start-up advice geared to the needs of start-ups in the life sciences, chemistry and nanotechnology.
INKLUB is a long-term project that is also open to start-up projects outside Berlin. Since April 2020, INKULAB is under the leadership of the Chemical Invention Factory (CIF).
Link to industry
BasCat - UniSysCat BASF JointLab
In 2011, the Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat) and the chemical company BASF SE founded the joint lab BasCat on the campus of the TU Berlin. BasCat is dedicated to fundamental research in the field of heterogeneous catalysis with a focus on the catalytic transformation of hydrocarbons to value-added products. With this approach, fundamental research shall be actively transferred to industrial application. The research of BasCat is complementing the research in UniSysCat and providing an interface to industry.
