ETH researchers break record for new companies
A record number of 24 spin-off companies was created by researchers at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in 2009, despite the difficult economic climate.
The institute said in a statement that it was “striking” that four out of the spin-offi were created in the “cleantech” sector. Clean technology stands for any products, processes and services that use few natural resources and reduce the negative impact on the environment.
As the ETH explained, the four cleantech companies come from different technical areas: “Amphiro”, for example, develops energy and water-saving software and the spin-off “Keoto” offers engineering services for sustainable building.
The founders of “greenTEG” sell flexible and intensive thermoelectric equipment that converts waste heat into electricity.
“Spin-offs can develop solutions that enable our production and consumption methods to become more sustainable,” commented Silvio Bonaccio, head of ETH transfer, the Zurich institute’s technology transfer office.
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