RootCamp - A SpinLab Company

RootCamp, together with SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator and ExciteLab - A SpinLab Company has been recognized at this year’s Startup Ecosystem Stars Awards in the category Exceptional Industry Support. 🎉 Even more special: this 🏆award is granted by leading global institutions such as the International Chamber of Commerce, #OECD, the European Commission, and Mind the Bridge. As one of the most respected global awards for organizations that strengthen innovation ecosystems, it represents a highly credible international recognition. The SpinLab Group was honored for its long-term and structured approach to building innovation ecosystems that benefit founders and industries. The jury highlighted how effectively the group connects innovation needs across regions and sectors. 💬 Hans-Henning Schuur, COO & Head of Partnerships, SpinLab Group states: “The award is a strong validation of the SpinLab Group’s approach to building an integrated innovation ecosystem. By combining deep sector expertise across energy, mobility, infrastructure, agrifoodtech, bioeconomy, up to robotics and semiconductors, we create the conditions for breakthrough technologies to emerge and scale. This acknowledgment reinforces our commitment to shaping Europe’s innovation landscape together with our partners and startup communities.” Huge thanks to our team, our founders, and our partners. 2026 is going to be even bigger.💥

The Desafía #AgTech Germany program has officially come to an end and what a journey it has been! Over the past weeks, the teams got the chance to explore the German AgTech ecosystem up close: workshops on market entry, meetings with stakeholders, sessions with experts, and a lot of hands-on feedback. Over the past weeks, we were proud to see: ➡️ how quickly the participating startups advanced their solutions, ➡️ how they refined their market-entry strategies, and ➡️ how actively they engaged with partners, customers, and investors at AGRITECHNICA. What makes this program special is that it goes far beyond theory. Participants learn directly from experienced industry experts and can immediately put this advice into practice with clear guidance. Thank you to all founders, partners mentors, supporters and ICEX and Red.es, who contributed to this year’s edition. The program showed how valuable collaboration can be for market expansion. 🎬We’ve put together a short recap video that captures a few highlights from the program. Gaia Amatteis, Adrian Slowik, Dr. Philipp Rittershaus, Thi Thu Linh Pham, Ilka Gomez, Moritz Weber, Angelina Ivanova María Jesús Abellán Madrid, José María Cases Pey, Antonio Rodríguez, Virginia Z. Elena Cidón, Robert Everwand, Iván José Galindo Cardiel, Daniel Cascales Carlos Bergera Leonan Vasconcelos Efa Rimoldi, Iván García Besada, Caspar Olenhusen, Christian Wienecke, Dirk Vanderhirtz, Christopher Armstrong, Ralf Blessing, Markus Heinz, Jonathan Eade, Divya John-Murphy, Laura Torres

#InnovationRoundtable: Bringing #startups and #corporates to one table. 🤝 Innovation procurement is becoming a topic for many organizations. Startups bring new ideas and technologies to the table, while corporates bring structure, scale, and responsibility. But connecting these two worlds is not always easy. 😬 At our roundtable, founders from BarrierSystems GmbH, Hivebuy and VCG.AI described how challenging it is to navigate long sales cycles and wait through slow processes. 💡Ralf Blessing from K+S Gruppe explained the core tension well: companies need innovation, but they also need compliance, safety, certifications, and risk mitigation. #Pilotprojects with defined budgets are one way to bridge this gap, limited scope, clear learnings, real results. ↪️This is where the SpinLab Group’s #ventureclienting services help bring both sides together. What became clear during the discussion: collaboration works best when both sides speak openly. When #startups explain their use cases clearly, and corporates share what is possible within their internal structures, progress becomes much easier. RootCamp alumni Dr. Dominik Patzelt captured this mindset shift with his🍨 ice-cream example: we often go to the same shop for years, convinced it’s the best. Then someone says, “Try the one across the street.” You hesitate… then you try it and sometimes you switch. Many thanks for the great moderation Bettina Fischer and for making real dialogue possible. Also thanks to Peter Schlösser for the keynote and introducing how Kompetenzzentrum innovative Beschaffung (KOINNO) supports public procurement in integrating innovative solution.

⏳ 1 week to go!   The innovate! Zukunftsdialog is just around the corner - and we’re thrilled to bring the RootCamp Demo Day to Osnabrück! 🌾   Our startups are ready to pitch live on the 4th of December between 11:00 and 12:00, and again between 13:30 and 14:30- sharing bold ideas to transform the agrifood industry.   Expect energy, inspiration, and innovation in every pitch.   Don’t miss this chance to meet investors, industry experts, and the next generation of agrifood disruptors.   Let’s make the future of agriculture smarter, greener, and more connected, together. 💚   AgDoIT GmbH Papair Aqua Boost Nano Zymofix EMPYRIO

Every year, millions of tons of sewage sludge create costly disposal challenges for municipalities. EMPYRIO from 🇱🇻 Latvia has developed a compact, ⚡energy-positive system that allows wastewater treatment plants to process sludge directly on-site. It burns sludge safely and with low emissions, producing energy and phosphorus-rich ash that can be reused as fertilizer. This reduces transport and disposal costs by up to 50% and helps plants meet new environmental rules.

Plastic bubble wrap has been around for decades, but it comes with a huge waste problem. Papair is changing that by developing a paper-based bubble wrap that is recyclable, sustainable, and just as protective. 📦Their technology makes it possible to produce eco-friendly packaging with high material efficiency, tackling some of the biggest challenges in the packaging industry: - Reducing plastic waste - Meeting the growing demand for sustainable, resource-efficient solutions - Ensuring scalable, cost-effective production With Papair, shipping and transport can finally become greener. 

After 3 intense months of screening, scouting, and evaluating, we’ve reached an exciting milestone in our water challenge with K+S Group! From 92 applications, only 8 outstanding teams made it to the Jury Decision Day - including 4 startups, 3 university teams, and 1 SME from across the UK, Italy, and Portugal. Each of them came prepared with a milestone-based pilot project draft to explore joint collaboration opportunities with K+S. Their solutions lay within these three sub-challenges: Brine Treatment Brine Valorization Prevention of Water Accumulation on Salt Heaps   A big shoutout to all applicants for their hard work, dedication, and bold ideas. And congrats to the finalists for making it this far - the level of innovation and commitment is truly impressive!   Ralf Blessing Matthias Hübner Mario Verbeek Dr. Philipp Rittershaus Hans-Henning Schuur

🪴Join us to shape the future of bio-LNG!   On December 2nd in Hannover, RootCamp - funded by Rentenbank and commissioned by the Bundesministerium für Landwirtschaft, Ernährung und Heimat - will host the next workshop focusing on the future of bio-LNG.   What’s on the agenda: - Insights from Henning Dicks (agriportance GmbH) - Interactive sessions exploring future scenarios, hypotheses, and innovation opportunities in the bio-LNG sector - Plenty of room for networking and exchange throughout the day   Join us to collaborate with key stakeholders from the biogas, energy, and mobility sectors as we define the next steps for a sustainable bio-LNG future.   📩 Interested in joining or learning more? Send an email to annkathrin@root.camp

Feeding a growing population sustainably, improving resource efficiency, and building climate-resilient food systems are tasks no country can tackle alone. We had the privilege of welcoming delegations from Jeollanam-do (South Korea) and Brazil during AGRITECHNICA. Two regions with ambitious #startups, and a strong commitment to transformation. 🤝 Known for its technological leadership and strong digital innovation ecosystem, 🇰🇷South Korea brings valuable expertise in Smart Farming and sustainable agri-solutions. We are proud to sign MOUs with JARES and JCIA to foster joint pilot projects, support startup exchange, and drive innovation across the Agri- and #FoodTech sectors. Many thanks to Jinho Bae for bringing us together. 🇧🇷 Brazil, as one of the world’s leading agricultural nations with a growing pool of young tech talent, Brazil is an important partner for future #AgTech cooperation. With Sistema FAEG/SENAR/IFAG, @Senar Goiás, Sebrae Goiás and Campo Lab we want to collaborate on technology challenges, field tests, and structured startup programs. We’re excited for the next steps. Stay tuned!

💡 The stage is set for RootCamp's Demo Day at innovate! Zukunftsdialog!   Between 11:00 and 12:00, and again between 13:30 and 14:30, our startups will pitch the results of their acceleration journey with us - bringing forward solutions for the future of agriculture and food systems.   🎤 Expect groundbreaking ideas, investor-ready pitches, and a vibrant community of industry leaders and change-makers.   This is your chance to: ✅ Discover high-potential startups ✅ Network with experts and investors ✅ Be part of the agrifood innovation movement   📍 Osnabrück | December 4th | 11-14:30   We can’t wait to connect!   AgDoIT GmbH Papair Aqua Boost Nano Zymofix EMPYRIO