Super Surf is the winner of the German-Dutch Prize for the Economy 2019. This cross-border project, which enables the mass production of hydrogen fuel cells, has beaten 35 other candidates to win the prize. The award was presented for the twelfth time this year by the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce (DNHK).
“The mobility of the future has an interesting solution,” says DNHK director Günter Gülker about the winning concept. “Super Surf is a perfect example of what our two countries can do if they join forces.” Fuel cells are one of the most important technologies for making passenger and freight traffic emission-free, according to the jury. The problem so far has been that the cells could not be produced in large quantities. There was a lack of reliable quality control for the highly sensitive components.
Start-up for bus production
The six German and Dutch companies that support Super Surf have together found a solution to this problem. With the help of two project partners, they now operate optical 2D and 3D measurement systems that enable fuel cell manufacturers to guarantee consistent quality. But that’s not all. “The project is currently creating a German-Dutch start-up that will produce fuel cell buses for public transport,” says Susanne Schreier of project leader ADREM GmbH. “We are extremely pleased that our cooperation has now also been awarded the German-Dutch Economic Prize. This will give us greater awareness in both countries.”
Super Surf consists of Demcon (Focal) BV (Enschede), Hymove BV (Arnhem), NanoFocus AG (Oberhausen, D), Nedstack BV (Arnhem), ZBT – Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik (Duisburg, D) and project leader ADREM GmbH (Oldenburg, D).
Swapfiets and sennder
In addition to Super Surf, two other mobility specialists were in the finals: the Berlin start-up sennder, an online transport company that links large manufacturers to small and medium-sized freight specialists, thus revolutionising the European logistics sector, and the Dutch company Swapfiets, which became the world’s largest provider of bicycle subscriptions in just five years. These three companies have been selected for the final by a professional jury from 36 entries from both countries. An open online voting round finally decided which finalist would win the German-Dutch Economic Award 2019, an award for special innovations in the cross-border economy.
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