2nd place in the Science4Life business plan phase
SMELA takes 2nd place in the Energy Cup

On the 21st of September 2020, Science4Life awarded the best business plans from the Energy Cup and Life Science Cup. 


The Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to innovations in medicine and vaccine development. They are crucial for the fight against the novel virus and show how important it is to support new projects. Science4Life, an initiative of the Hessian state government and the health company Sanofi, has been supporting start-ups in the fields of life science, chemistry and energy for 22 years and can report a record number of 86 business plans submitted this year. Innovative biotechnology in the zero-gravity of the ISS space station, rapid and targeted development of new vaccines based on the modular principle, as well as practice-oriented solutions for the joint use of renewable energies within residential areas convinced the expert jury and show what the future will look like in the fields of life science, chemistry and energy. 

After more than a year in the Science4Life community and the helpful input for our business plan, we are particularly pleased to receive our third award in the entire business plan competition.


pictures: Science4Life, Nathalie Zimmermann

About Science4Life e.V.

Science4Life e.V. is an independent start-up initiative that was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organisation. Initiators and sponsors are the Hessian state government and the health company Sanofi. Once a year, the initiative organises Germany's largest business plan competition in the fields of life science, chemistry and energy. Alongside the competition, the Science4Life Academy offers further training and coaching to all registered participants. The winning teams of the individual phases qualify for selected workshops during the Academy Days. A total of around 85,000€ in prize money is awarded in the business plan competition. 
Since 1998, more than 7,500 people have taken part in the competition and over 2,200 business ideas have been submitted and evaluated. The start-up initiative consists of a network of industry experts from more than 300 companies, who are available to the competition participants with their know-how and experience. As a result, over 1,200 companies were successfully founded.  

to the Science4Life press articlel


2nd place in the Science4Life business plan phase
SMELA GmbH, Benjamin Horn 6 October, 2020
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SMELA GmbH founded