Challenge accomplished: OHB selects winners at INNOspace Masters

July 3, 2019. The INNOspace Masters ideas competition ended today with the award ceremony in Berlin. This year, the listed space and technology group OHB SE chose the winner of the OHB Challenge, who was simultaneously also the overall winner: the start-up ESDA-Axiotherm GmbH, led by Dirk Büttner from Bad Saarow near Berlin, celebrated a double victory. The team from ESDA-Axiotherm impressed the INNOspace jury with the development of a PCM polymer compound for the thermal stabilization of components and systems. PCM is a phase change material, i.e. a material that can store a high proportion of heat and cooling energy and release it as required in phases as heat. When used in space travel, the compound can offset temperature fluctuations and thermomechanical loads.

INNOspace Masters is organized by the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center as part of the INNOspace® initiative. AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, an international networking company for aviation and aerospace-related innovation competitions, has been holding INNOspace Masters since 2015 on behalf of DLR Space Administration.

This year, OHB is participating as an official partner with its own challenge for the second time. Once again, the motto of this year's challenge, which is targeted at young companies, universities, research centers and individuals, is 'Space Moves'. Accordingly, the focus was on ideas and concepts exhibiting varying degrees of innovation and maturity for the different categories of the competition. The OHB Group is also supporting the OHB Challenge team, which achieved second and third place. 'Once again, a large number of very interesting ideas were submitted and it was not easy for us to select three ideas. We will be sitting down with the prize winners to explore possible joint space projects. This is an absolute win-win situation', says Dr. Timo Stuffler, Head of Business Development at OHB System AG.

The INNOspace team is very pleased to welcome DB Netz AG as a new partner as of next year. DB Netz AG will be announcing a challenge of its own. 'DB Netz AG is the first non-space company to contribute its own challenge. We are looking forward to this interdisciplinary partnership,' says Timo Stuffler.